captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. breaking news. german prosecutors say the gunman who killed two u.s. airmen and injured two others at the frankfurt airport appears to have motivated by islamic extremism. we're live with the latest. it was horrible. mickey rooney testifies on capitol hill about the abuse he suffered for years, allegedly at the hands of his own family, and he speaks exclusively to nbc news. >> and he even sold my oscar. >> this morning, his emotional story in his own words. and back with their mom. charlie sheen's twin boys now in the custody of their mother, brooke mueller, as new details emerge about what she told a judge to have those kids removed

from the actor's home today, thursday, march 3rd, 2011. and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer. that story out of frankfurt, germany, was terrible. the first deadly attack on u.s. serviceman in more than 20 years. >> the airmen were boarding a military bus outside of a terminal at the frankfort airport when a man began opening with them and then opened fire. two servicemen were killed. this morning german prosecutors are investigating the accident as a possible act of islamic terrorism. we'll have the latest straight ahead. you're not an ipad, are you? >> not yet. >> the tech world is buzzing about the introduction of the new ipad. the buzz for two reasons. one, it has a lot of bells and

whistles. two, the man who unveiled it, steve jobs. the world has wondered about his health ever since he announced back in january he was taking a medical leave. well, he was energetic, but he appeared very thin. we'll talk about that with dr. nancy niderman later in the show. would you leave your own children and travel to another country for six months? not only did one mother make that choice, but while she was gone, she decided she no longer wanted to be married or a mom to her sons. she opens up about her choice. drawing attention and criticism from other moms. we'll talk to her coming up. let's begin on a thursday morning with that deadly attack on u.s. airmen in germany. nbc's anne thompson is at the airport in frankfurt. good morning to you, anne. >> reporter: good morning, matt. german federal authorities are now taking the lead into this investigation because they say there is reason to believe that this was an islamist-motivated attack. the suspect is a 21-year-old frankfurt man who relatives in

kosovo describe as a devout muslim. authorities are looking into his background to see if there is anything that explains why he would open fire on a busload of american servicemen. the blue bus towed away by german police last night, visibly scarred by the bullets that ended the lives of two american servicemen and wounded two others. wednesday afternoon, the bus was stopped outside terminal 2 at frankfurt airport. it was picking up a group of u.s. airmen on their way from the lakenheath airfield in england. the attacker got into an argument with the servicemen outside the bus and then started shooting. he killed one airman, then entered the vehicle and killed the driver. at the white house, president barack obama said he is saddened and outraged at the attack and promised to spare no effort in figuring out how it happened. >> but this is a stark reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our men and women in uniform are making all around the world to keep us safe.

>> reporter: the shooter is identified by family in kosovo as arid uka. at a relative's home in frankfurt this morning, a visibly shaken man answered the door saying he is sorry for what happened. but would not say anything more. now, this morning a german television network caught up with uka's father who said his son worked at the airport post office here, but he was not aware of any connection that his son had to islamic groups. as for the two wounded servicemen, they are in a frankfurt hospital today. one of whom is in critical condition. matt? >> anne thompson, thank you very much. and now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories from ann curry. >> good morning. good morning, everybody. overnight, an air strike rocked eastern libya as government war planes launched an aerial assault on the rebel-held oil port of brega. jim maceda now has the latest

from tripoli. hey, jim, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the target of this latest bombing is said to be brega's airstrip now in rebel hands, as you say. one could argue that the battle for brega is the first major set piece of libya's civil war, which so far at least the rebels seem to be winning. the anti-gadhafi rebels are sitting on a big prize. brega is the site of libya's second largest oil refinery and natural gas facility. mounting their first counteroffensive in the east, a convoy of pro-gadhafi troops supported by air force bombers, mortars and heavy machine gun fire took the town at dawn yesterday. only to be driven back hours later by a wave of rebels pouring in from the north. gadhafi's forces, a mix of militias and mercenaries, did make some gains. retaking two small towns near the capital of tripoli, now

heavily fortified. but the fight for two other strategic towns. only dozens of miles from gadhafi's stronghold. still, the man who's ruled libya for 42 years showed no signs of having his back to the wall. speaking 2 1/2 hours wednesday to a hand-picked crowd of supporters and foreign journalists, he railed against america, warning that he'd turn libya into its next vietnam if the u.s. and nato attacked. if you destroy libya, he said, then bin laden will come and jihad will move from north africa to europe. but the key question remains, how long will these tribes who gadhafi has gifted with oil money and well weapons for the past four decades come to the plate and support him in his battle? if they decide to bolt, that would be a game-changer. negotiations could begin as

early as today as the white house where congressional leaders will broker a long-term funding solution to keep the government up and running. on wednesday, the president signed a bill to maintain funding through march 18th. more coming up. convicted assassin sirhan sirhahn has been denied parole in his role in shooting and killing senator kennedy. he claimed he had no collection. the army private suspected of supplying wikileaks with hundreds of thousands of classified documents now faces 22 new years including aiding the enemy. >> reporter: this is the most serious charge yet against private bradley manning. in the army, it's the closest thing to treason. in fact, if convicted, manning could face the death penalty. that's up to a military judge to decide. manning is accused of stealing thousands of classified documents, which showed up on wikileaks. but the charges make no specific mention of wikileaks or its

founder, julian assange, who is the target of a justice department investigation. sources tell us, however, that investigators have still found no direct link between manning and assange, ann. >> jim miklaszewski, thank you so much for your reporting this morning on this story. a pakistani court today rejected cia contractor raymond davis's claim of diplomatic immunity. davis is charged with murdering two men as they approached his car on motorbikes. he says he acted in self-defense. trish regan is watching the markets. hi, trish. good morning. >> it all comes down to oil and jobs again today. oil is really being closely watched because, as you know, as we saw all this violence in the middle east it's having a big affect on prices back here and, therefore, at the gas pumps. in fact, wednesday's session, oil closed above $100 a barrel for the first time since september 30th, 2008. and as oil soars, guess what? gold soars, too. people are looking for safe havens. $1,437 an ounce is what gold is now going for. so maybe your jewelry is worth something.

meantime, tomorrow's report on jobs, that's a biggy. economists are hoping for nearly 200,000 jobs to be added to this economy. >> all right. that's a positive note. thanks so much, trish regan, this morning. here's something you don't see every day. torrential rains in brazil turned a stadium into a swimming pool when a soccer game in sao paulo had to be delayed due to wet weather. some fans actually went for a due to wet weather. some fans went for a dip in the aisles while they waited. there you go. i give it a 10. maybe a 5. i don't know. it's 7:09. now back to matt, meredith and al. >> think of all the stuff that washes down the bleachers -- >> see, you would think that. >> you immediately go to that. >> all the beer and -- anyway. all right. we're alike. you think of the same -- oh, that's not clean water. >> what's that fan doing in my staid wrdiu

stadium? the backstroke! >> speaking of wet weather we have people in the midwest that have to watch for that. >> that's right. they have the snow melt, saturated ground and heavy rain coming. we have a double barrel low pressure system bringing in gulf moisture and atlantic moisture. as the day rolls on tomorrow these two systems will combine to bring a lot of moisture along that frontal system. what that means from friday into saturday and sunday, a lot of rain. we are looking at anywhere from 1 to 3 inches. some areas as much as 5 inches of rain from little rock to detroit and buffalo, yeah, we are talking about a few hundreths of an in. coming down per hour across the bay area. some really light showers. a lot of the precipitation is evaporating before hitting the ground, but we'll see hit or miss showers for the first part of the day. high pressure is building in bringing about a foggy start in the north bay and along the peninsula.

now that the sun is up it is breaking apart and lifting. we are down to a quarter mile, take it easy up in santa rosa. novato, a half mile his of visibility. pretty well everywhere else. have a great day. and that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you. now to the u.s. supreme court decision being blasted by groups. members of a kansas church have the right to picket with hateful messages at military funerals. pete williams is at the supreme court with more on this. pete, good morning. >> meredith, good morning. this case has aroused strong passions given the setting. a military funeral. but the court says while the message may be hurtful, the protests are free speech, protected by the constitution. it's a big legal victory for members of a tiny church in westbero, kansas, who protest at military funerals, claiming that war deaths are god's punishment for the nation's acceptance of gay rights. their signs say "thank god for

dead soldiers." when they brought that message to the funeral of matthew snyder, his father sued for emotional distress. but the supreme court said the protest was in a public place about public issues. john roberts said speech is powerful and can sptir people t action, move them to tears of joy and sorrow and inflict great pain. but he said the government cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. matthew snyder's father was outraged. >> my first thought was eight justices don't have the common sense god gave a goat. we can no longer bury our dead in this country with dignity. what is this country becoming? >> reporter: but the kansas protesters call the decision god's will. >> we are going to finish this work and we are going to sprint running every day. >> reporter: the ruling also drew a response from sarah palin. quote, common sense and decency

absent as wacko church allowed hate messages spewed at soldiers funerals but we can't invoke god's name in public square. >> the ruling does permit invoking god's name in the public square, but it also allows restrictions on protests at funerals. >> pete, thank you sfwlnchlth n. now let's bring in tom brokaw. what's your reaction to this ruling? >> it is outrageous. those people who are protesting out there are pathetic. there are ways of dealing with it. you have to get local permission. i think the american legion ought to have counterdemonstration. members of the community ought to show up to honor the families, to honor the fallen and do it ibmuch greit in much numbers. don't pick a fight, but get between the mourners and those people who for reasons that i'll never understand are out there doing what they're doing. >> there's also a debate about the federal budget. the president signed a

resolution funding the government for two more weeks, but america is living payche paycheck-to-paycheck. what can we expect biden to do? >> it's a delicate game. the republicans remember what happened in 1994, then the government was shut down. john boehner doesn't want that to happen. he has to deal with the tea party people on his right. he has to deal with his tradition traditionalists in the middle. and he has to deal with vice president biden. at the end of the day, this is a political game as much as it is a financial game. and the vice president would like to be seen as the guy who kept the government open or if he can't, to be able to blame the republicans. that's what we'll see play out here in the next couple of weeks. >> in our latest poll, we second americans where they think the government should be focusing its attention. top priority, job creation and economic growth. not budget cutting. so does that suggest that the government is out of touch with the people? >> well, the core group,

however, the republicans who are in the house and their constituents who got them there, they in this poll said that the deficit is the most important thing. when you move into the largest block of american voters that there are, the independents, they put jobs in front. they want to get back to jobs. the democrats who were polled as well would put jobs on top. so that's another tricky piece for the republicans who are in the house. and we're all getting lined up for 2012, you know. and so this will play out into the coming months on the campaign trail as well. but that's what makes this poll -- we have to go into the internals to find out what people are really thinking and where they are. >> when people were polled about what they considered to be acceptable cuts in the bujt, most popular was a surtax on millionaires followed by earmarks. least acceptable, made care, education and social security. what is your impression of those numbers? >> chuck todd and i were talking about that this morning. he said even the tea party

members don't want to cut social security. so it isn't a way -- the real issue is not cutting these programs but reforming them so that they are more efficient. that the money gets to the people who need it the most. my own very strong impression is that across the country, people are ready to raise the retirement age for social security, for example. a lot of people are ready to have testing for medicaid. the wealthy pay more. and we have to do something at the delivery end. you pay a lot more as a citizen for medicare patients in florida than you do in oregon. we ought to have a national standard based on value and performance, not just on tests that are ordered up. >> i want to talk about libya. the president is expected to speak about libya today. you've met with moammar gadhafi. do you see any scenario where he will step down? >> no, i don't. i've met with him. the guy that you see on television is the person i'd see sitting across from me. i never quite understood what he was saying or how he was saying it. the stakes are huge. we have to look at the price of

oil and the context of everything that we've talked about and the impact that it will have on the american economy. this is a very big deal. it's not easy to resolve. >> you know, i referred to him -- questions about him the other day, the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and asked her whether she thought he was a madman. you make a good point. anybody that's in power this long has to have his wits about him to some extent. >> i asked him how he really did spell his name. an hour later, i still didn't understand because he was still trying to answer the question. by the way, i'll be on "nightly news" tonight talking about immigration reform. we're talking about visas for young entrepreneurs that come from around the world, go to silicon valley and then spend their time talking to immigration officials. >> tom brokaw, thank you so much. hollywood legend mickey rooney appeared before congress on wednesday and revealed the abuse he claims he suffered at the hands of his step-son. it's drawing the attention to the 3.5 million cases of elder

abuse in this country every year. kelly o'donnell spoke with rooney exclusively following his testimony. kelly, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. you use the word legend. while that can get thrown around a lot, it surely applies to mickey rooney and his more than 80 years making movies. now, he was center stage here and he came to d.c. to try to get help and raise awareness to fight elder abuse. a child superstar in the hay day of hollywood movie-making. a teen idol stealing scenes with greats like judy garland. >> i want success. >> and you'll have it. i know you will, mickey. >> reporter: a veteran of more than 300 films. now playing himself on capitol hill. >> my name is mickey rooney. >> reporter: rooney revealed a very personal drama. >> i've been abused financially, medically.

my wife and i have hungered for food at our house. and this -- this has to stop. >> reporter: last month, a california court granted rooney a protective order against his step-son of 32 years and his wife, christina. what was your experience? >> it was horrible. >> reporter: rooney claims that for 20 years, family members have misused his money, forced him to work, and even left him without enough food at home. you were neglected? >> oh, you can say that with a capital "n.." >> reporter: rooney testified wednesday. >> i was told to shut up and be quiet. you don't know what you're talking about. it seemed that no one, no one wanted to believe me. >> reporter: appearing before a senate committee working to strengthen laws against elder abuse. >> my daily life became

unbearable. >> reporter: did you feel embarrassed? >> yes. as a man, our individuality was taken away from us. our personal things. things that meant everything to us were gone. >> reporter: rooney claims personal treasures were taken. awarded two special oscars for work as a child actor and lifetime achievement, rooney says his golden statue is gone. >> and he even sold my oscar. >> reporter: a judge has appointed someone to protect rooney's finances. in a written statement, a lawyer representing rooney's step-son says allegations that chris aber threatens, intimidates, harasses, yells and screams at mr. rooney are false. and states that rooney's eighth wife, jan, denies any abuse. going public, rooney hopes to help other seniors. >> you're not alone. and you have nothing, nothing,

ladies and gentlemen, to be ashamed of. >> reporter: something rare for a senate hearing, but not for this showman. a round of applause. >> god bless you are, and god bless our country. >> and part of the reason senators wanted rooney to come here, because as a movie legend and a world war ii veteran, they hoped that he will help seniors come forward. more than 14% of elderly who live with family or on their own go through some kind of abuse. rooney hopes his story can help them. and in our conversation, he revealed a lot of pain but also hope that his own situation will get better. meredith, matt? >> kelly, thank you very much. we appreciate it. coming up on a thursday morning, will charlie sheen be able to win back custody of his twin sons? the latest on the acquisitions being made by his estranged wife that could hurt his chan

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good morning, everybody. the time is 7:26. i'm brent cannon. a south bay restaurant is destroyed after an overnight fire in a strip mall. marla el tellez is live with a look at what happened this morning. marla? >> reporter: brent, can you hear me. >> yes, we can. can you hear us? >> reporter: good morning to you. sorry about that. this small strip mall at the corner of story and lacreche roads is not open for business as it should be because it has no power. san jose fire crews shut off the electrical and gas here this morning after an early morning fire at the el salvadorian

restaurant called la gaviota. it caught fire at 1:20 this morning. the flames destroyed the restaurant, but the damage was contained to that business alone. the other businesses are okay but cannot open without power. the vietnamese spot here opens at 6:00 a.m. usually. >> a lot of the people come here to drink coffee, but now, wow, it is nothing. >> reporter: he tells me he is already turning away customers this morning and could lose $1,000 today. now the cause of the fire that happened at this restaurant behind me here is still you should investigation, but the fire investigator thinks it is accidental and electrical. right now we'll check the morning commute with mike. >> we'll look at the maze and a nice flow of traffic on the upper east shore and into the tunnel from highway 24.

the metering lights are on filling in across the 880 overcrossing. low clouds are near the golden gate hills. we have more clouds and fog on the north side of the bay. coming through novato and santa rosa you have a low visibility. just off the san mateo bridge, there's a little mist. watch that coming into the south bay. there could be mist, but so far the winds are not a problem. christina has your forecast coming up. more local news for you in a half hour. the "today" show returns in less than two minutes. have a great morning.

7:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the third day of march, 2011. after a brief warmup, we're back to winter here in new york. temperatures, the lower 40s this morning. thanks to these people for bundling up and heading down to the plaza. inside studio 1-a, i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira. ahead, accusations by charlie sheen's estranged wife that led police to remove his boys from his home. apple unveiled the new ipad 2 on wednesday.

got to get one of those. an event overshadowed by a surprise appearance by steve jobs. he's on a medical leave. we'll talk to dr. nancy snyderman about how he looked and sounded. we'll also talk about the emergency treatment that serena williams underwent just days after doctors discovered a blood clot in her lungs. and then the memoir of a mother who decided she didn't want to be a parent. and the criticism that she has faced for leaving her two sons to pursue her career. but let's begin with the latest on the custody fight between charlie sheen and his eschanged wife. jeff rossen has new details on this. good morning, jeff. >> the restraining order against charlie sheen, it's about 78 pages, has biting accusations by his estranged wife, brooke mueller. she says charlie has gone insane. this is just in the past two weeks. it was enough for a judge to strip their children away from their dad.

charlie sheen, self-described winner, losing the two boys he loves. in this home video shot by a sheen friend, charlie hands over his twin sons max and bob, to police. the boys still in their pajamas. as officers arrived in the darkness of night, the children were taken from sheen's hominid court order. an emergency complaint filed by charlie's estranged wife, brooke mueller. >> good-bye. >> i love you, little man. i will see you very soon. trust me. your dad don't lie. i will see you very soon. love you. >> reporter: just hours later -- >> at this moment on live television, i do not know where my children are. >> reporter: charlie sheen re t reacted here on "today." >> brooke, i'm sorry that you felt this had to be done in this way, but this does not display

any responsible parenting. i urge you to reach out to me and tell me where our sons are. >> reporter: brooke mueller who just days ago jetted with shean and his goddesses to the bahamas, filed court papers saying in the last two weeks sheen threatened to stab my eye with a pen knife and spit on my feet. he also punched me in the arm. on christmas day 2009, police reports sheen held a knife to her throat, eventually pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault. until now, they had shared custody of the boys, though brooke is looking for more saying i am in great fear for the children's safety while in his care. sheen itni nidenies all of it. brooke says you threatened her. >> it's colorful. >> reporter: did you say that? >> no, but that's a good one. >> reporter: brooke says she's worried about erratic stories from charlie.

>> share that apple with your brother. >> reporter: the kids have been removed from sheen's home and they're with brooke, but she has troubles of her own, admitting i have struggled with my own sobrie sobriety issues. he mocks my recoveryefts. sti >> our life is awesome. >> reporter: he's living with a former porn star and a model. do you love his kids? >> are you kidding? i was just up there with them right now. >> reporter: a lot of people watched that video when we were in the house with the goddesses and said to themselves, you know, maybe two young boys shouldn't be raised in this kind of environment with women who they're just meeting. how do you respond to that? >> i invite anybody to come in and observe. if it's a monitor, if it's her, if it's you with a camera, there's nothing to hide and as i said, there's nothing but love and compassion and absolute support for these amazing children. >> reporter: sheen promises to fight for his children in court.

>> i think that the court is going to be concerned about both parents. and i think that the court very well might order on its own some type of custody evaluation. because it doesn't seem to me given that both sides are at such odds that there's going to be a -- a voluntary resolution that's capable of being worked out. at least at this stage. >> reporter: but for now, the man with no job has no stake to his boys either. >> don't say good-bye. just say see you later. >> bob, max, i'll see you very soon. you're right here. >> just to give you perspective here, this week i spent about ten hours inside of charlie's home in beverly hills. a few things struck me that i wanted to share with you. first of all, he has two nannies. one that's full-time during the week, one on the weekends. they really care for those kids. i saw bob and max myself every single day i was there, usually playing with the nannies.

yes, the goddesses play with them, but they aren't the primary caregivers. the house is actually very normal. in fact, it borders on boring at times. no question about it, love him or hate him, matt, you are watching him. sheen just opened a twitter account and he already has more than a million followers. >> pretty quick. jeff rossen, as always, thank you very much. trial attorney ricky cleman is here with dr. josh weiner. good morning to both of you. let's make it perfectly clear. although charlie sheen has said some things that probably make people grimace, nothing he said on television is the -- that's not why these kids were taken out of his house. >> absolutely correct. and they wouldn't have been taken out of his house no matter how bizarre he appeared to be on television unless and until he actually threatened someone. and what happened here are two things, matt. he threatened, allegedly, brooke.

and, i mean, badly threatened her. and he's had violent behavior toward her in the past, and he took the kids without permission. >> brooke mueller says, he threatened me. what level of proof does she need before a judge will take those children out of the house? >> well, once she went in just with this allegation, and it's some allegation. i mean, we're dealing with i'm going to cut off your head and put it in a box. and she's had proof in the past. he pled guilty in the past back in aspen. >> so past actions come into play even if it's just an accusation now. >> well, it certainly enhances her credibility. and, of course, his interviews enhance her credibility. >> legally speaking, how do you determine that the children are better off with brooke mueller because she is facing issues of her own. she's admitted to addiction issues. so how do you tell where the stability is in either of these households? >> mark kaplan, who just spoke in your piece, really has the right idea. and what you have to do is you have to have an evaluation.

be a guardian who is appointed. and there will ultimately probably be some supervised visitation for charlie sheen. >> dr. weiner, you are not currently treating charlie sheen. but when you watch his -- his actions and words and you listen to his words over the last several days, what comes to mind? >> well, i'm concerned about how he's doing. i wonder whether, in fact, possibly charlie sheen may, in fact, may be using drugs still. >> why? based on what? >> based on his past history of using drugs. also based on how he's conducting himself during his interviews. he's agitated, he's talking quickly, he's grandiose. those are things suggestive of continued drug use or other issues potenti s potentially. >> what will court officials be looking for in terms of the boys' behavior that will give them some signal that they could be negatively impacted by what's going on between their parents? >> i think it's very difficult to evaluate that sort of thing. but primarily what they're going

to be looking for is making sure that there's no regression in the kids' development. so if the children are able to do certain things, like they're potty trained but they start losing the ability to be potty trained or if they start -- >> something is going on in their world. >> that's right. they're having sleep problems, those sorts of things. >> from what we understand, they are clearly not being nufwlekne. there is care there. a weird question for you. does the court care about resumes? in other words, one of the girlfriends is a former porn star. does -- does that mean anything in the eyes of the law? >> well, it probably doesn't mean anything in the eyes of the law, but it may mean something in a subtext as to what is in the best interest of the children. that is the only question for this judge. and what we do know is charlie sheen, according to his wife, had expressed no interest in seeing those children until january of this year. >> according to his wife. >> correct. >> and this is a very much a he

said, she said situation. >> it is. but you will have some objective witnesses who know if he's been there or not. >> in the short-term, dr. weiner, what's the best solution short-term? >> the best thing for kids this age is for them to be placed in a stable, safe, comfortable environment. they need routine. whatever adult can provide that for them, hopefully it's someone in the family, maybe brooke's mom or brooke if she's able to get treatment. that's what's in the best interest of the kids. >> thanks to both of you. appreciate it very much. you can see much more of charlie sheen's story on a special "datelaine" right here n nbc. let's get a check of the weather now from al. and good morning, everybody. got a good group.

so the -- the herd is here. marshall university over here. and all the way over here. we've got fans from marshall. let's check your weather. and we've got some cold air here in the northeast. teens and 20s into new england. single digits up into southern new england. teens and 20s as well working their way up into the plains. 80s and 90s down through southern texas where they've got some fog along the coast. snow showers around the northern great lakes. we've got more wet weather moving into the pacific northwest with some snow in the mountains. sunny skies up and down the eastern seaboard. only 21 degrees in boston well, we are going to see a pretty nice day today, bay area. we do have some light scattered showers streaming ashore pushing from west to east. and it looks like this will be the case for the first half of the day. showers clearing by noon. a mostly clear bay area. just a little cell situated over con corps concord at that time.

by 4:00 p.m. we'll see mostly sunny conditions. we are looking to highs today because we started out so warm in the mid-60s. 63 degrees, more rain on the way this weekend. have a great day. >>. thank you, al. up next, steve jobs takes a break from medical leave for a surprise appearance to unveil the next-generation ipad. we'll have details right after this. [ male announcer ] drivers have told us they like a crossover that can go the distance. but do passengers appreciate all of the comfort features we put in the chevy equinox? ♪ we'll take that as a yes. hey. want me to drive? [ chuckles ] ♪ that makes a chocolate so smooth and creamy, you don't just taste it, you feel it.

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back now at 7:44 with the latest on the health of two big names in technology and sports. steve jobs made a surprise public appearance on wednesday, and it was revealed that tennis star serena williams had to undergo emergency treatment after doctors discovered a blood clot in her lungs. nancy snyderman is here with details on both. let's start with steve jobs. >> sure. >> we know he was diagnosed with pancreatic kacancer in 2004. he's taken a medical leave in january of this year. appears for the launch of the ipad 2. looking frail, which he -- the few times we've seen him since january, he's looked that way, but his voice was strong. does that suggest that these dire predictions about his health could be off? >> this is a man who loves his company, loves his product and is invested in being there. people remarked on how thin he was and how gaunt he is. he's seeing the best doctors for his cancer and then his liver

transpla transplant. one of the big challenges when you've had a diagnosis like this is keeping weight on. he has talked about getting his nutritional system back in order. >> so that could be the reason he took this medical break? >> it could be. it's hard to read into why he took the break. but his energy level is high. yes, he is awfully thin. this, as we know, the overall prediction for this kind of problem is not -- the -- the recovery rates are just not great. but i happen to know who's treating him and he's seeing the best doctors that anybody could get. >> i want to move on to serena williams. we learned yesterday that she suffered a pulmonary embolism last week and then underwent emergency treatment for a hematoma on monday. a lot of speculation here. just define these terms. >> they haven't particularly been forthcoming in sort of putting the pieces together. a pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that gets thrown to your lung. that makes it really hard to

breathe. sometimes you have chest pain. and routinely, it's usually a clot that can come from your heart, from a deep vein thrombosis keep in your vein. we talk about people on long-haul flights being able to move their legs. but she's an elite athlete. she moves her legs. i suspect this clot came from somewhere else. the routine treatment is to put someone on a blood thinner, but this must not have been life-threatening or we wouldn't see her in public situations. >> right, she was at the oscars and then the next day she has emergency treatment. >> putting the pieces together for serena, little tough to put together. we know she injured her foot. we know she got this blood clot. i can't make a direct correlation between the two. because she's an elite athlete and she's young, i'm sure she got good treatment. >> and the point is that these embolisms can be treated. >> i have seen people die of

them instantaneously. they must be taken seriously. and you have to find the cause of the clot. that's what the doctors did with her. so this treatment probably went for dissolving the clot and then figuring out what caused it in the first place. >> thank you, dr. nancy. still ahead, more on the new ipad 2 and what you need to consider before buying the tablet computer. well, it toured around europe, getting handling and steering lessons on those sporty european roads. it went back to school, got an advanced degree in technology. it's been working out -- more muscle and less fat. it's only been two years, but it's done more in two years than most cars do in a lifetime.

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they say that things are bigger in texas. one dallas area high school is proving that to be very true after landing in the guinness book of world records. here's janet shan lane. >> reporter: you'll see double. ♪ again and again and again. in the junior class alone, ten pair of twins and a set of triplets. a world record for the most multiple birth children in a single class. >> can i have the eye shadow? uh-huh. >> reporter: mirror images of each other, kelly and lindsay mckee are used to the double takes. >> we've been doing to school with twins since we were little,

little, little. it's not a big deal if we see someone that's a twin. >> people keep coming up to like, y'all are twins? that's crazy. you know, here we're just like, that's so normal. it's weird not to be a twin. >> hey, girls. >> reporter: the girls' mother led the campaign to get the class into the guinness book of world records. >> i just think it's something once in a lifetime to be in the book. and i think it's great. it should be a really nice memory for the kids. >> reporter: the record holders are basking in their new-found fame. >> it's cool balls it's something to show your kids and your phrens. oh, look, there's me. i'm cool. >> it's awesome. it's like you pick up a book and you're like, i'm there. >> it just something -- a lot of people say they wish they could do. we didn't do anything and ended up there. it's cool. >> reporter: while ten sets of twins and a set of triplets may sound like a lot, at this school it's just a start. >> schoolwide, we have 32 sets of twins so they're everywhere.

>> reporter: with so many multiples, birthdays come in pairs. and celebrations can quickly turn to double trouble. janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. >> you used to do that, the icing in the face. >> used to? just ahead, one mother's controversial choice to leave her husband and kids to pursue her career. >> it's a fascinating story. she's written a book about that story. facial cleanser g from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark it contains no dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. dirt and toxins do a vanishing act and my skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from the new line of neutrogena naturals. it's the lenscrafters' semi-annual lens event.

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good morning, everybody. the time is 7:55. new this morning, a local arab-american college student is suing the fbi after he found a tracking device on his car. this morning he is sharing his story with us. 20-year-old mission college student yasser afifi returning from washington, d.c., last night, back to san jose. he's suing the fbi for violating his constitutional rights. he says the fbi attached a device to his car and then threatened him with federal charges if he didn't give it back. afifi is not politically active and thinks he shouldn't have been targeted. >> i knew they were tracking my car, and i am a muslim. i believe they were doing this only because i'm fitting some type of profile for them. i'm trying to speak out and make sure that anybody else in my

position can and will assert their rights. >> in his lawsuit he asks for an order that would ban the fbi from placing gps devices on cars without search warrants. right now we want to check the morning forecast with christina. >> good morning to you, brent. we'll have a chance to dry out today. we are seeing a little bit of shower activity streaming through the south bay, but overall it is becoming very light. take a look at the latest reflection. yeah, very little precipitation coming down. temperatures are going to end up in the mid-60s today. we are starting out warm with temperatures in the 50s. do watch out for a little fog swirling around the peninsula and in the north bay. that's the case until 9:00 a.m. we'll check the drive with mike inouye. christina, i'm getting a report of a baby seal reported just off highway 4 in contra costa county. we'll follow that. it is very near the 680/highway 4 interchange. meanwhile, further over near the east shore freeway, we have an accident in the eastbound direction near pinole valley

road. the earlier accident was in the westbound direction. that was enough to kickoff more slowing in the eastbound direction. the eastbound direction is opposite the main commute, so you should be okay approaching highway 4 out of richmond. slower drives with speeds in the 20s near the tunnel for the east bay approach to the bay bridge toll plaza. here's a look at the south bay where traffic starts to slow from the highway 85 split with 101 coming up to san jose. it is bogging down near guadeloupe parkway. it is also slow to the downtown area. here's a live look at the golden gate bridge, we are slow near the north bay with fog as well. back to you. more local news in a half hour. [ bob ] i'd love to build bird houses for the rest of my life.

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8:00 now on this thirds morning, march 3rd, 2011. so much for the warmer weather. al says we'll struggle to get above freezing today as we step outside and say hello to our friends in rockefeller plaza. i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer and al roker. it is cold. >> yeah. windy, too. >> yeah. coming up, a great career opportunity, but you have to leave your spouse and your children for six months. would you take it? >> it's a hard call. >> one woman did. during their time apart, she

realized that she didn't want to be a full-time mom. now she is opening up about that choice in a very honest memoir. we'll talk to her about decision and also the criticism that she has faced. we are also going to spend some time with a young lady from georgia named ruby. she has had a long-time battle with weight. she at one point reached 716 points. decided to do something about it. let some reality television cameras follow her around. had great success, but this year a little bit of a setback. ruby is going to be here to talk about that and how she gets back on track in just a little while. and then later on,fitness guru and his wife, tony little, talk about the health scare that literally brought them to their knees. we'll talk about that coming up. first, let's get a check of the top stories with ann curry. >> hey. good morning. the crisis in libya escalated today as government war planes

attacked rebels who control a key oil port and its air strip. meantime, the international criminal court says moammar gadhafi and his sons will be investigated for crimes against humanity. the president of yemen discussed a possible solution to that country's political crisis as thousands of protesters continued their demonstrations today. yemen's president also called the white house wednesday to apologize for accusing the u.s. and israel of inciting unrest. new zealand has now called off the search for survivors of last week's magnitude 6.3 earthqua earthquake. officials say the many of the 200 people listed as missing are among the 161 bodies recovered, but have not yet been identified the supreme court has upheld the free speech rights of a small church group that stages protests at military funerals with signs that say things like "pray for more dead soldiers" and "god hates america."

the church claims that military deaths are divine punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexual homosexuals. the ohio state senate passed a bill to restrict the union bargaining rights of 350,000 public employees. it would also ban them from striking. a 12-year-old boy is under arrest, suspected of shooting and killing his own parents on tuesday night in their colorado home. police say that it was the boy who called 911. two of his six siblings were also shot and critically wounded. former house speaker newt gingrich is a step closer to a possible 2012 run for president. the georgia republican is holding a news conference today to discuss his fund r-raising planning. and the hole in the wall gang has now finally been rescued. two stray kittens became trapped in the walls. firefighters spent two days punching holes in the walls to reach the captive cats.

there they are, safe and sound. it's now 8:03. let's go outside for a check of the weather with al. >> what is your name? >> i'm ellie and this is arthur. >> where are you from? >> from bristol in the west of england and it's arthur's first birthday today. >> we're going to come visit you guys in april. >> yes, look forward to seeing you guys. some wedding or something. >> there is some wedding. i think so. we'll check it out. nice to see you. happy birthday, arthur. let's check your weather. pick city of the day, boston, massachusetts. sunny and cold. nbc 7, 21 degrees. you can see we've got some rain and snow along the west coast, in the mountains there. here in the east we have clear skies. boy, is it chilly. temperatures only getting up into the 20s, 30s. we're going to see warmer weather down in florida. some showers working their way through the

>> and a very good question. what happened to early spring, punxsutawney phil? that's what happens when you trust a rodent in a hole. matt? >> all right, al. thank you very. when we come back, one woman's controversial decision to leave her husband and two young sons to pursue her career. ♪ [ female announcer ] kellogg's® wants to make kids happy one tummy at a time. because 9 out of 10 kids don't get the fiber they need, that's why froot loops®, apple jacks® and corn pops

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>> reporter: for rona, old memories can be painful ones. ten years ago, the married mother of two got a six-month fellowship in japan, an opportunity of a lifetime to do research for a book. although her kids visited her in japan, their time apart made her realize she didn't want to be a full-time mom anymore. >> i realized that i had lost myself a little bit and i wanted to -- to give myself more priority. >> reporter: when she returned home, she ended her 20-year marriage, leaving behind her two young sons, just 5 and 3. and admitting she never even wanted children. >> i didn't want to be a mother. and that was because i had this idea that motherhood was this really all-encompassing thing. i was afraid of being swallowed up by that. >> reporter: she penned the memoir "hiroshima in the morning" detailing the criticism she faced for leaving. >> there were friend that i had that wouldn't talk to me

anymore. i left my children. unacceptable. absolutely -- it didn't matter what the reality was. and it was a really -- it was a really sad time. >> reporter: her situation is rare. less than 4% of children live with her father only. still, experts say many mothers do feel overwhelmed and are judged differently than fathers. >> i do think that society says that mothers should in some way be more present than fathers. that's a double standard. however, i think that it's important for both parents to be present and emotionally available to their children. >> reporter: today, she lives down the street from her boys, now teens, sharing joint custody with her ex-husband. she describes their time together as quality time. >> i am able to pay attention to them in that block of five or six hours or whatever it is in a way that i wouldn't otherwise be able to. >> reporter: while it may not be a traditional arrangement, she says it's one that works for her. >> we have to have the freedom to decide what it is we're going

to do and how it is we're going to -- to shape our motherhood, to shape our lives. >> reporter: one woman redefining motherhood and her own life. her ex-husband has since remarried. her ma'emoir has just been namea finalist for the national book critics circle award. meredith? >> thank you, mara. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> as you might expect, your story has generated a lot of response from our viewers in terms of e-mails. some of it supportive. some people very supportive of you. many more, i think, critical, criticizing you for -- in their view being selfish about your decision. what do you say to those people? >> well, you know, i think we are very fierce about our motherhood. and what we expect mothers to give to people. and i think that we should be focusing more on children. and i think that -- it's quite possible that some of those

people are worried about my children. you know, they're -- >> they would argue that you were not focusing on your children. that's the problem. >> right. and that, you know, i would say to them, first of all, that my children are fine. they're not traumatized. i think they have a great -- they have a great life. they have two households. they have -- they have everything they need. and it's just -- the trick is that it's not coming from the people that people think that it should be coming from. the father is doing what i would call the heavy lifting. he's getting them up in the morning. but they have all of that. i'm able to provide them something different. >> when you went to japan originally in 2001, this was research for a book. you didn't intend to leave your family. that wasn't the point. you'd never traveled before then. >> no, no, not at all. it was kind of surprising how life changes in that instant. but the idea was that i had a great opportunity. my husband was very supportive. and really encouraged me to go, which i thank him for. and they were going to come out

and everything was going to go back to the way it was. it's just that interestingly when i got to japan, there was kind of a space around me where i wasn't defined anymore in the way that i would be in the u.s., where people had these expectations. and i grew in -- in ways that i didn't expect. and then i had to kind of reassess what i wanted in my life. >> and deal with that. we posted a poll on the "today" mom's blog asking if moms could leave their kids for six month, much less leave them and get divorced and separate from them. 72% said they wouldn't leave their kids. 28% said they would. what do those >> often we're very judgmental. we think there's wup way to mother. there's one way to parent. there's not. there's all forms of mothering and parenting that can be really good. and we've got to figure out what works best for that mother so that they can give the best to their children. if that's neglecting themselves, i have to say that oftentimes that then means they're under

denial that they're giving the best to their children and families and they may not be. >> you now see your children on a regular basis. >> absolutely. >> you've redefined motherhood for you. do you think you are a better mother than you were when you were there fulltime? >> i do. you know, we were together for six hours, doing homework, cooking, talking about what's going on in the day. i'm not on e-mail, i'm not going out with friends. we really have this time that -- that is quality time. and they do really appreciate that. >> and what if you'd never gone to japan? what would have happened? >> i think probably not. it's hard to know, but i think that i was very caught up in the life that i was in. i might not have looked up and it might have taken me many years to say, whoa, i did that thing that i didn't want to do, which was give up my life for someone else. >> ultimately, her children -- they're teenagers. i'm not trying to put anything on them. you say the relationship is

good. but might these kids have some residual feelings about the fact that their mom left? >> yeah may. and therapeutic process is helpful. talk about that. but at the end of the day, if she's feeling or the children are feeling like they've got the best of their mom and the time spent now, then they need to process that and then they can figure out what worked for them so that they can go on to be productive human beings and adults in their own parenthood. >> thank you very much. it's a very compelling book and beautifully written, i vmust sa. >> thank you. >> people should read it before we judge anything. up next, the long and difficult weight loss journey of the woman featured in "ruby." she is a character. we'll talk to her right after this. to the chobani factory just so that i could see where my favorite yogurt is made. and i got lost a few times. sure, go up the road, make a big right at the tree there. it's down there. no, it's a left. hey, those are some fancy pants. ha. i finally made it to the chobani factory.

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ruby gettinger is an epic journey to go from morbidly obese to healthy. she chronicles her struggles on "ruby." after losing more than 400 pounds, ruby's having a tough time. >> in the past, i didn't even know i'd gain 100 pounds because i was wearing those big, huge tent dresses. now that i can fit in capris and jeans and shirts and stuff that are tighter, i can tell that i'm gaining weight instead of losing. >> hey, ruby. good morning. >> hey. >> this is going to start with one of those questions i'm sure you hate. it's probably even worse coming from a guy who's never had to deal with weight in his whole life. but after losing 400 pounds and doing so well, how could you slip back? >> well, first of all, i hate talking about this because it's such shame in that, but what

happened was i started getting emotional. and that was one of the reasons that i was 716 pounds in the first place. and i don't know if you know that i don't remember my childhood. we started touching on that in the shows. dreams and nightmares started coming to me. i didn't go back to krispy kreme donuts or healthy, but i started eating healthy food that's sugar free or fat free. that will make you gain weight. >> emotionally, how do you handle a setback like this? >> well, first, you friends have to be brutally honest with you. >> yours have. >> my best friends -- i hate them right now. actually, they were -- before they weren't this stuff. now they're becoming tough. you'll see this in the show where they really tell me i'm sick. and i don't even see it because i'm blaming the scales for my weight gain instead of ruby. that's when i said, okay, you don't want to become that 716 girl anymore. >> how have you tried to get back on track?

>> well, i got in my head and i started saying, ruby, you cannot -- i don't want to be -- my life was so limited. i don't want to go back to that girl. i had to get in my head and go, you're really sick. you have to listen to your friends. we talk about ourselves and we're like -- you talk to yourself and you're saying -- i would look in the mirror and go, at 716 pounds and say, you're really not that big. you don't look 716 pounds. well, the first time i saw myself on video, i was like, oh, my god, who is that. >> you talk about not remembering your childhood. what you're now taking on is not a diet. it's really an investigation of your past because you can't fix the problem unless you understand why it starts. so where are you in that journey? >> right now, they told me when i started losing weight, the therapist, that i would start remembering. i youz used to think, they're crazy. how does weight have to do with any trauma in your past? they're right. the nightmares started coming.

now the next step is edmr. it's kind of a hypnosis, but you don't know under. they do this -- it's like rem sleeping you go into. the right and the left brain connect. you have to look it up on the internet to understand that. >> okay. >> it's scary to me. it's not like it used to be. i used to be scared to death to find out. now i just know that's the only way it's going to help me. >> you are an emotional eating, addicted to food. >> gosh, you're so brutal with me. >> that's the way you describe it. >> i am. >> so are you worried about not being able to break that addiction? >> no. i'm breaking the addiction. i mean, i would have been worried if i kept gaining but i'm breaking it. the fact that i've lost over 400 pounds and i did gain 60 pounds and i've lost half of it again. i'm just never going to give up. i am determined to prove that this is possible and we can beat anything. >> i get the feeling sitting across from you that it is possible and you'll do it. ruby, thank you.

>> you're so cute. we need a date. >> "ruby" premiers sunday night on the style network. >> ruby, you behave yourself. thanks, matt. now let's head to florida and check in with mr. willard scott. >> it gets better every day. we have our birthdays. living longer and my job is secure. hallelujah. happy birthday from smuckers. how sweet it is. the birthdays are good. take a look at melva radcliffe. 110. how about those apples? enjoys traveling all over the world. spent four decades teaching and loves her former students. they still come by to see her. the garden state, that's why they call it that. and margaret salvati. did i say that right? salvati from philadelphia, pennsylvania. 101. loves to cook and care for her grandchildren.

now, that's sweet. that's awfully nice. we appreciate that. and anthony mancinelli of new windsor, new york. 100 years old. oldest living and working barber in the world. 100 years old, still cutting hair. did it right for perry como. patrick o'neal, a good lad. god love you. fayetteville, arkansas. 100 years old. proud ww2 vet and delivered newspapers by horse. i did that, but not by horse. and charlotte passanise. 100 years old today. was in the marine corps during ww2. and still lives independently. neighbors love her to death. we love her, too. and bruno, i always liked that name, bruno behrends of atlanta, iowa, not georgia. i was going to say georgia. anyway, played baseball into his

50s. umpired into his 70s. never missed a call. neither do we. back to new york. >> willard, thank you. just ahead, a buyer's guide to tablet computers including th e ne 2ipw ad good morning, everybody, time now is 8:26, i'm brent cannon. a south bay restaurant is destroyed after an overnight fire at a industrial mall. >> the strip mall behind me has six businesses, but not one of them is open this morning because fire crews shut off the electrical and gas to the entire strip mall. the owner of the strip mall is on scene right now talking to insurance appraisers to get a sense of the damage. the restaurant was gutted by flames early this morning. firefighters got the call about

1:20, they got the flameses under control by 2:00, estimated damage about $200,000. the cause is still under investigation. but the fire chief tells me he thinks it's electrical. the restaurant typically opens at 9:00, that's not going tn thhaepp or any time i n e near future. a look at your morning commute is coming up after the break. my diet? well yesterday i had an apple turnover.

i know it's sort of my weakness. i always keep it in the house. well, that and boston crème pie, white chocolate strawberries, and mmm key lime pie. yeah, i've already lost some weight. [ female announcer ] yoplait light -- over 30 delicious flavors at about 100 calories. babe, what are you doing?! ♪ [ female announcer ] the yoplait you love, now in a 4-pack. try it today. the moment you feel run down or achy nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud. there's a couple of things to worry about, first of all the slowing from 101.

an earlier accident just clearing 87 park way. 101 actually slow from just past the 85 split there and 85 itself also slow and a new issue, a sig alert has been called for northbound highway 17 at 9. that is in the center divider, so slowing for one lane in the northbound, two lanes in the southbound are distracted. on the 101 through san mateo, both directions are slow. and northbound through oakland, we have a gum up around hyatt street.

we're back now. 8:30 on a thursday morning. third day of march, 2011. we've got a lot of nice people out here on the plaza. they are either waving for the folks at home or simply moving to stay warm. man, it's cold out here this morning. 20 degrees right now.

>> it is breezy. >> yeah. this is the time of year where everybody says, oh, spring is just around the corner. no. >> you missed the sunshine, guys. >> out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer. tablets, they are all the rage. yesterday, apple unveiled the ipad 2. a lot of people buzzing about this one. >> christmas in march. >> there you go. put is that the only choice? clearly not. there are a lot of other options out there. we'll go through some of them and tell you which one right be right for you. >> they expect manufacturers will release 102 tablets. >> who's left to buy them? 15 million were sold of the first one. >> there's a big, wide world out there. >> but this one has a camera. people are very excited about it. >> okay. >> you'll be on board soon. >> no, i think it's cool.

moving on, fitness entrepreneur tony little and his wife speak out about the hardships that they've faced when their twins were born three months premature and also the emotional toll that it take on the foamily. also, i'm starting a series called "living legends." this morning, i'll introduce you to ruth gruber. this woman took that image of women and men who were holocaust survivors. many of them death camp survivors. she was chronicling their suffering. people didn't understand the needs of holocaust survives. she's in her 100th year of life. i'll tell you what she teaches us about courage in all of us. and later on, different note, are you a sucker for a sale? you see the deep discounts. >> always. >> you may actually end up spending more than you expect to because of those sales. we'll show you how. before we go any further, how about a check of the chilly

forecast. >> let's look ahead to the weekend. for saturday we've got rain and snow in the pacific northwest. heavy rain in northern new england. new york state, back into the ohio river valley. sunshine from the plains down to the southwest where it will be nice and mild. then sunday, heavy rain up and down the east coast. showers and thunderstorms down through the southeast, looking for more rain and snow in the northwest. sunny and warm in the southwest. yes, sunday is when we're expecting our next big storm, but what we're seeing this morning is a little bit of lingering shower activity from the last storm, really starting to thin out, in fact the coast is having a chance to dry out right now, just a little cell located to the east of livermore. and we do have some fog, fog advisory in place until about 10:00 a.m. mostly sunny conditions are going to bring our temperatures up to the mid 60s. the high really nice friday, then showers return late saturday into sunday.

>> and don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com when we come back, fitness pitchman tony little and his wife open up about a health scare involving their twins. we'll have that right after this. [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box... ♪

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we've done a good job. but even if you were born today, you'd still grow up in a world where tobacco kills more people... than aids, drugs, alcohol, murder and car crashes... combined. we have a lot more work to do. we are back at 8:36. he calls himself america's personal trainer. he has helped others discover the incredible power of change. but tony little and his wife had a very personal challenge to face. amy robach has details. >> come on. check this out. more, more, more. >> reporter: with his trademark toponytaitonponytail and energye has sold close to $4 billion worth of product. >> how about butt squeeze?

i see you what to touch. not this show. >> reporter: a geyser of positi positivety, he's carved out a nice, fat slice of the american dream. >> obviously i love antiques. it's not a huge -- >> not obvious to us. >> reporter: little met his hard-driving fitness model wife, melissa, on the set of the home shopping network. >> i proposed. >> she propolesed. >> i've known i wanted a family, but i knew it had to be with the right man. >> reporter: emergency quickly led to pregnancy. but tonymelissa's world flipped upside down when their twins came into the world three months earlier. >> it was hard because you couldn't touch them. it was a long time. i don't know how long it was before we held them. >> reporter: in a fight to it live, the brothers battled

heart, lung, and brain ailments. their first weeks were a stream of surgeries and long hours for their parents. >> i had to walk a long hallway every day. and i would just see the -- the dad, the proud dad and the mom in the wheelchair and they're holding their baby and they have the balloons. it was like torture. i'm like, when is my baby going to be able to come home? >> reporter: it was a full three months before cody was released from the hospital. a week later, chase joined him. but the boys were not out of difficulty. >> there was significant medical care that you all had to provide. what was that like? >> actually, one of the hardest parts was chase -- with the nose -- >> the feeding tube. >> he was being fed through the nose. he'd rip it out. nobody can experience that. she'd hold him down and i'd have to try to weave the tube back down into his stomach. >> reporter: under all of theme

severe post-partum depression. >> it was a different person. i mean, it was a totally different person. it was very difficult for everyone here. >> i still go through really bad times. i mean, i can't lie and say it's always perfect where i haven't connected with my kids. it's like i felt like it would go away, feeling that disconnect with the children. they're a year old now. why am i feeling like i don't want to -- and then i just said, you know what, melissa, you wanted to be a mom. you wanted this responsibility to live your child. you need to be there for them. >> reporter: for the man who says there's always a way, it's natural to wonder if tony had ever faced a greater challenge. >> i thought i had. i thought i had. but, no, i hadn't. not -- not having the kids and

then losing my wife. >> reporter: despite the difficulty, little's mindset never changed. >> i always believed there's a lot higher percentage of winning when you believe versus not. so i always believe. >> reporter: cody and chase are over a year old and doing well, but the full extent of their health issues will not be known for years. but they can make you laugh and just like their dad, they have plenty to give. >> they always make you smile. >> yeah, they do. >> kids obviously always enrich our lives. and it's an amazing thing. >> and that was amy robach reporting. we are told that melissa is doing much better, but it will be five years until the littles know what health issues the boys may have to deal with over the long-term. and up next, the hottest

tablet computers on the market including the buzz over the new ipad 2. switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today.

we're back now at 8:42. this morning, we're talking about tablets. the tech world is buzzing with the ipad 2. it's not the only game in town. what do you need to know before you lay out that much money for the newest high-tech toy? mario armstrong is a digital lifestyle expert. welcome back. >> thanks for having me back. >> i use the word toy. steve jobs went out of his way and said, this is not a toy, the ipad 2. you can do real work with it. >> they're very popular because they're easy to carry, they're great computing devices, they're lightweight, great battery, powers up really fast. you don't have to look for a wall outlet and all of these things. internet browsing, photos, videos, games. >> but they can't do everything a pc can not sfdo.

>> not yet. >> the main difference between ipad 2 and ipad 1 is what? >> 33% thinner. so the new ipad 2 is going to be thinner, lighter weight. it's about 1.3 pounds. it also has a newer processor. things are going to move faster. it has that front and rear-facing camera which is great for video chat. >> that's big in my household. and the same price point at the ipad 1. >> yes. >> let's move on. this -- >> coming out march 11th. >> this is not the only game in town. let's compare these. the next one is the motorola xoom. >> we saw this at ces this year. a couple of reasons. it is running on the verizon network. that gives it the opportunity to upgrade easily to 4g. if you're into fast internet connectivi connectivity, that's a good choice. >> it has the newest google

operating system. >> yes. honeycomb is the name of it. up until then, most of the operating systems were created for smartphones. this is the first operating system designed specifically for a tablet. it's about 799 dld$799 dldz. >> this one is small. the samsung galaxy. >> this is great for consumers but also for small business owners or entrepreneurs. you can just put it in your coat pocket or jean pocket. >> but will it let me do as much as these two? >> it still has the android marketplace so you have tons of options for applications. whatever it is, you can still get done. >> it's the at&t version. is it available on other networks? >> verizon, sprint, t-mobile. >> and the price point? >> about $429. >> so less expensive. >> you can find some discounts. >> a lot of people find themselves -- i'm a blackberry user or an apple guy. and this is blackberry's version of the tablet.

>> yes. they came out with the playbook. i love the way this device looks and feels. it's thinner and lighter. it has a beautiful opportunity here. it does multitasking very, very well. so this is a video that's going to be playing but i can also pull up an excel spread sheet, i can pull up a video game. so what i'm showing you here is the ability for it to be able to do multitasking. >> which really does separate it from some of these over here. they're not as easy to multitask on. >> no. >> what's the pricing e ing ita one? >> we don't know. should be around 500 bucks. >> is it fair to say this is more geared toward the business user or is this as much of a personal device as these others? >> i think it's geared more towards that enterprise user, the business professional. however, you can do all of the consumer things that you love to do on this device. but it does have security features embedded in it as well that lend itself better to

business. >> we talk about hybrid cars. this kind of reminds me of a hybrid pc tablet, whatever. >> that's right. you drop the top on this. the dell duo. full screen, it's a netbook. it has windows 7 on here. you pop the screen and it becomes a tablet. it's touch screen. you use it just like you would any other tablet. it's heavier and a different size, but if you want the best of both words, a keyboard and a tablet, this might be a good idea for you. >> the price on this ranges. it's been changing so much. >> available now? >> this is available now. >> okay. marlea mario, always good. >> the biggest point i should make with folks, if they're going to buy a tablet, really do your homework. if you don't already have a computer in the household, don't buy these first. get a computer first, then look at a tablet. >> mario, thank you.

still ahead, why the allure of a sale can actually get you to spend more money. [ female announcer ] it's monday, some people will stick with their old way of getting vitamins and minerals. others will try total raisin bran with 100% of the daily value of 11 essential vitamins and minerals, and the luscious taste of plump juicy raisins and crunchy whole grain flakes. ♪ guess it's all about what kind of crunch you like.

♪ how are you getting 100%? ♪ never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment i registered, people started immediately supporting me and asking me how they could help. you meet the most wonderful, inspiring people. when you accomplish those 60 miles, it's truly life-changing. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. this morning on "today's living legends" ruth gruber helped awake the world to the

plight of holocaust survivors. >> now unhin her 100th year of life, ruth shows us how to find courage even in our extraordinary times. >> they said take pictures. show the world what they're doing to us. >> reporter: ruth gruber was just 36 years old, a reporter and photographer for the "new york herald tribune". 4,500 holocaust survivors were fleeing. >> nobody was going to destroy them. >> reporter: the boat had been heading to palestine, only to be bombed by british war ships enforcing a blockade. >> they selected me to represent the entire american press. they regretted it for 60 years. >> reporter: why? because she documented how the

call kst survivors reacted. >> when i got aboard, the top deck, the refugees raised a flag. they had painted the swastika on the british union flag. and i immediately took pictures of it. >> reporter: a british colonel tried to confiscate her film, but she got it to her editor and the images went around the world. and to think they might have been confiscated from you. actually, i don't think anybody could confiscate anything from you. is this the camera that took this photograph? >> yes. >> reporter: if it wasn't for you holding this, these people and what they went through might not have been known. you started to write down their stories. >> everything in a notebook. i have hundreds of notebooks. >> reporter: born in brooklyn, she proved herself a maverick

early. the world's youngest ph.d. at the age of 20. overcoming odds to become a reporter and the first journalist to cover the soviet arctic. but ruth gruber discovered her true calling when the u.s. government sent her on a secret mission during the war. to escort jewish rouefugees. she agreed though she herself is jewish. there were people who would never have said yes to such a risky assignment. why did you? >> because for years i'd say, why don't we do something? and at least i thought maybe this was the beginning. >> reporter: this was your chance to actually -- >> do it. >> reporter: bringing those 1,000 refugees to safe haven in new york became her life's greatest joy. and it prepared her for the emotional demands of covering

holocaust survivors aboard the exod exodus. is there a face, a story, an image that to you is the greatest burden to carry? >> i saw this beautiful baby in its mother's arms and i went over to it and i said to the mother, may i hold it? and she said, here. so i embraced that baby. and i didn't know who needed it more, the baby or me. >> reporter: the hug? >> and i said to the mother, such a beautiful baby. she said, i know. but my life is over. i said, how old are you? 24. i said, don't talk that way. they can't do anything worse to you. you'll get there. don't worry. and she said, i know i'll get there. i'm going to live so that no child is ever torn from his mother's arms again.

i'm going to live. i took those pictures. and i will never forget that mother and child. >> reporter: today in her manhattan apartment, evidence of a life as a witness to history. ruth gruber has written 19 books and is still writing, lecturing and collecting awards, which she uses as a chance to tell people the same courage is possible in all of us. >> you cannot forget what human beings can do to other human beings. we have to prevent that. there's so much we can do. we just have to open ourselves to doing it. >> that documentary is called "ahead of time" and it airs throughout this month starting tonight on showtime. >> wow. >> what a woman. >> 100? >> 100th year of life. she'll be 100 this year.

she lives right here in manhattan. she's somebody that many people have yet to discover. look what she's done. that's why there's going to be this documentary. >> my goodness. >> brave lady. >> did she stay in contact with any of the people she covered? >> yes. the 1,000 people that she rescued, during the war, they have come to meet her and they've brought their children, their grandchildren, and this has been the greatest joy in her life. she stays in contact with them. one of them, when a young woman arrived from the death camps and she helped her, ruth -- she wanted to get married. she met somebody and she wanted to get married. ruth gruber had her mother make the veil for the woman. so there is a close connection. >> the mother with the child, wondering what happened to that child. >> yeah. >> and that was beautiful. thank you. .>> just ahead, cool new th t g tt,fi gse to that. first, these messages. he

good morning, everybody, time now is 8:56. an embarrassing mix up as a prisoner on the loose. in fremont on sunday, casada was arrested on carjacking charges

the sheriff's department thinks he was mistakenly take on the the release room or he managed to escape. we'll have a look at traffic coming up after the break.

and i greet you back with better news for the santa cruz mountains. there was an accident on highway 9. the rest of the south bay looking a little better. westbound 80 right around portola and the merge, that is still slow because of an early accident there. the toll plaza a little bit

lighter. the "today" show continues coming up next. [ female announcer ] to get fresh-baked rich, indulgent chocolaty brownies you don't have to open your oven... just the refrigerator. ready-to-eat pillsbury sweet moments. find them in the refrigerated section of your store. but i've got a warm, fresh baked strawberry toaster strudel. see the difference? mmmm. i do. (announcer) pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. hey marcel, watch this! ♪ hey marcel, watch this! yeah, marcel! -marcel! -hey marcel! are you listening to me? marcel!

[ male announcer ] only at&t u-verse lets you follow your favorite channels on one screen. just $29 a month for the first 6 months. dvr included. in the network there are no hard choices. we're back now with more of "today" on a thursday morning, day of march, 2011. it's the third day of march, 2011. you know what the calendar says. that spring is just around the corner. it looking like a very long corner right now because we've got 20 degrees in new york city. little chillier than that with the breeze in the air. i'm matt lauer along with tamarin hall and al roker. are you feeling better? you were under the weather. >> i'm dealing with the cold. but we have twin leopards here, so we keep --

>> yeah. that's cool. >> leopard keeps us warm inside. >> tamarin wasn't feeling well, which makes these people feel good that just shoot your hand. >> yeah. >> i was poisoned by tuna salad, but i'm better. >> okay. sglchbl coming. more on the situation involving charlie sheen. we all watched that videotape yesterday of his twin sons being taken away by police under court order. taken now -- they're living with his brooke mueller. a lot of people wondering what is the best possible outcome in this situation? we'll talk more about that. and then sucker for a sale? >> yes, i am. >> well, most of us have been suckers for sales. but then you think, well, maybe i'll get a coat for next winter, the new pair of shoes. well, you end up spending more than you want to. we'll expose the strategy behind retail sales and how to resist the temptation.

plus, they are booack, the real housewives of orange county and the tension is high. all five lovely ladies will be here to premier -- they are the original housewives. they set off the whole franchise. and there you have it. >> all right. >> we'll talk to them. let's go inside. ann curry has all of the headlines. hi, ann. >> hi. good morning. in the news, the man suspected of opening fire on a busload of airmen in germany appears before a judge today. this is one of the first shootings in decades of u.s. service members in europe. security officials say the gunman, a 21-year-old from kosovo, has confessed to targeting members of the amain military. the victims were about to be deployed to afghanistan. german officials are treating the attack as a possible act of terrorism. overnight war planes rocked eastern libya. as conditions deteriorate,

hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to the borders with egypt and tunisia. three dutch marines were captured by gadhafi's forces and arrested while attempting to rescue dutch workers from libya. negotiations could begin as early as today as the white house where congressional leaders are to broker a long-term funding solution to keep the u.s. government up and running. on wednesday, the president signed a bill to maintain funding at least through march 18th. the army private suspected of supplying wikileaks with classified documents faces 22 new charges including aiding the enemy. although some of the charges carry the death penalty, prosecutors say they will not seek capital punishment in this case. veterans groups are disappointed by wednesday's ruling that upheld the free speech rights of a fundamentalist church group that stages incendiary protests at military funerals with signs that say things like "pray for more dead soldiers." new zealand's top disaster officials say there is no hope of finding any more survives

from last week's earthquake there in new zealand. it only took a matter of seconds for the massive hurth quk in haiti to bring the area to a pile of rubble. a team from the smithsonian is s salvaging historical mureles. today, they are locally adored and a point of pride for their uniquely haitian retelling of the bible. simply just hearing the hammers and -- is making a lot of people in haiti smile after all they've endured. it's now four minutes past the hour. back to matt. >> they've been through a lot, matt. mr. roker has a check of the weather. >> thank you, mr. lauer. where are you guys from? >> new orleans. >> all right. who is this? >> bennett. >> how old is bennett? >> 23 months. >> the sis bennett's sister? >> no, cousin.

>> very nice. let's see what's happening. we'll show you for today, we've got flood threat that's going to be affecting the midwest later this weekend. a double-barrelled low gets together with a frontal system, works its way east, bringing snow to the north. a lot of heavy rain from ohio all the way down into the southeast. we're looking at some rainfall amounts from jackson up to st. louis. two to three inches o >> good morning to you, bay area, we have a lot of shower activity earlier, it was scattered and light, but we're working with very little right now, just a little to the east of livermore. watch out for patches of fog, especially towards the coast, places like santa rosa reporting reduced visibility. 63 degrees, cloudy conditions, really nice for tomorrow, then our next storm system moves in saturday night into sunday. have a gate day.

>> and that's your latest weather. tamron? >> thank you. now to charlie sheen's bitter custody fight. this morning his twin sons are in the custody of their mother. jeff rossen is in los angeles with more. jeff, good morning. >> hi, tamron. good morning to you. this is the restraining order right here. more than 70 pages of biting accusations by sheen's estranged wife, brooke mueller. she has charlie has gone insane in the last two weeks. it was enough for a judge to strip the children away from their dad. charlie sheen, self-described winner, losing the two boys he loves. in this home video shot by a sheen friend, charlie hands over his twin sons, max and bob, to police. the boys still in their pajamas. >> ready? let's do it. >> reporter: as officers arrived in the darkness of night, the

children were taken from sheen's hominid court order. an emergency complaint filed by charlie's estranged wife, brooke mueller. >> i love you, little man. i will see you very soon. trust me. your dad don't lie. i will see you very soon. love you. >> reporter: just hours later -- >> at this moment on live television, i do not know where my children are. >> reporter: charlie sheen reacted in an exclusive live interview here on "today." >> brooke, i'm sorry you felt this had to be done. this does not display responsible parenting. i urge you to reach out to me immediately and tell me where our sons are. >> reporter: brooke mueller, who just days away jetted with sheen and his goddesses to the bahamas, filed court papers saying in the last two weeks sheen threatened to stab my eye with a pen knife and spit on my feet. he also punched me in the arm. on christmas day, 2009, police reports sheen held a knife to her throat, pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault eventually.

until now, they had shared custody of the boys, though brooke is looking for more, saying i am in great fear for the children's safety while in his care. sheen denies all of it. >> brooke went to court yesterday and told the judge you threatened her. she says you said i'll cut your head off, put it in a box and send it to your mom. did you say that? >> no. that's a good one, i guess. >> reporter: brooke says i believe his rage is the result of an intense mental issue rather than simply a reaction to substance abuse. >> are you going to share that apple with your brother? >> reporter: the kids have been removed from sheen's home and they're with brooke, but she has troubles of her own, admitting in court papers i have struggled with my own sobriety issues. still, she says, the kids are better off at her house than charlie's. >> our life is awesome. >> reporter: where he's living with a former porn star and a model. >> do you love his kids? >> are you kidding? i was just up there with them

right now. >> reporter: a lot of people watch that video when we were in the house with your two girlfriends, the goddesses, and said to themselves maybe two young boys shouldn't be raised in this kind of environment with women who they're just meeting. how do you respond to that? >> i invite anybody to come in and observe. if it's a monitor, someone from her legal team, if it's her, if it's you with a camera, there's nothing to hide. there's nothing but love and compassion and absolute support for these amazing children. >> reporter: sheen promises to fight for his children in court. >> i think that the court is going to be concerned about both parents. and i think that the court very well might order on its own some type of custody evaluation. because it doesn't seem to me given that both sides are at such odds that there's going to be a voluntary resolution that's capable of being worked out, at least at this stage. >> reporter: but for now, the

man with no job has no stake to his boys either. >> don't say good-bye. just say see you later. bob, max, i'll see you very soon. you're right here. >> just a little perspective here this morning. this week i spent about ten hours total inside of char leie homes. a few things struck me. first of all, he has two nannies. one works full-time. the other is a weekend nanny. those nannies really care for thesecharlie. i saw bob and max, the children, every day. the goddesses play with them, but they are not the primary caregivers, at least not what we saw. the house is very normal, tamron. it's actually bordering on boring sometimes. love him or hate him, you're watching him. sheen just opened a twitter account and already has more than a million followers. he's catching up to you, tamron. >> incredible. thanks, jeff. well, brad lamb has worked

with thousands of recovering addicts and their family he's the author of "just ten points." good morning, brad. >> good morning. >> you're also a recovering addict. >> yes. i was as crazy as charlie sheen. seriously. >> what do you mean? >> it's certain water-cooler fodder. i just flew in from los angeles. it's all anybody can talk about. they say it's like we're seeing him go crazy right in front of our eyes. he's really not crazy. he's -- he's definitely sick. and needs help. and the question so many people ask is is it the addiction or something else? >> people say, do you think he's still on drugs? what is your take? >> we're seeing definite mania. it's the symptomology of addiction. when i got clean and sober, it took me six, seven months to normalize and establish really a baseline of mental health. when somebody struggles with addiction for a long time, they're not going to get better right away. i think we're still seeing the symptoms of that. >> so he could be clean and sober and still exhibit this -- >> could be.

>> could be. >> could be. >> could be. >> odd behavior? >> i think there's -- there's nobody that is even arguing that the behavior is out of sorts, you know. jeff just talked about the kids in the house. here's some statistics that are so chilling and it should serve as a wake-up call to everybody out there. that has somebody that they love that is struggling with addiction. if you have child in the home of an untreated alcoholic or addict, they're 70 times more likely to be sexually abused and seven times more likely to grow up to be addicted. this moment can also be a wake-up call to folks that there are things we can do to help those we love who are struggling. >> the home environment at least what jeff observed seemed to be boring at times and there were caregivers for the children. something that's interesting with charlie, he's obsessed with winning. he talks about winning, not being the loser, as if he can will the addiction away. is that possible? is it mind over matter? >> it's not. the way people most successfully change is with the help of others.

hess faeshg martin sheen said you know, we've tried. we know he's really sick. i encourage families not to go it alone. families get separated and dad will try to help and then mom will trial to help and then brothers will try to help. the power of intervention for families is that they do this together. there is strength in numbers to break through the behavior and help someone, even when they don't want it. >> but the sheen family has tried power in numbers in the past. martin sheen going out publicly. is charlie in denial and does it hurt more or cause more resistance when your family is so public about it? >> at its core arc diction and mental illness are this problem of, no, the person has such a different view of what they need and where they are than what the family wants. i find, again, if the family can rally the troops and do it together, love is the best thing to break through and help someone normalize. >> we've also seen similar behavior with lindsay lohan. she's facing serious criminal charges. with it the stolen necklace. do you see similarities between these two? >> when you're active in addiction or even newly sober, there's so much nonsense and

crazy behavior that accompanies it. i know that even when i was still using when i was doing drugs, crystal meth and alcohol, a lot, you know, there was so much -- there was always a crisis or chaos right behind me. it was like linus or that kid in "peanuts" that has the cloud over him always accompanying him. >> is there an enjoyment of the attention? many people have speculated that about lindsay. >> when i work with celebrities, there's a culture of celebrity. it adds to an entitlement, that they deserve this or that. that may extend to the necklace in the store. >> back to the real world, people who deal with hidden addictions every day, you see it all. >> i do. what i find is so common is that the people that most often struggle with addiction are not the ones that we notice. it's people that struggle with the everyday addictions that hold them back from the life that they want, and that includes alcohol and drugs, things like food, you know. i just pent the last 60 days crisscrossing the country intervening on america's fattest

cities to help people start treating addiction and food as an addiction of sorts, that we're falling into this behavior that's killing us. if you look at blackberries, if you want to make it something that anybody can relate to, blackberries and caffeine. some people are fueling their life with caffeine and there's that cycle of craving and obsession. >> yes. charlie sheen's interviews have been eye-opening, if nothing else. thank you. and for more on the charlie sheen story, tune in to a special "dateline" right here on nbc. up next, are you a sucker for a sale? how stores can trick you into spending money. the latest energy efficient gadgets. you into spending money. hi, we're looking to save some money on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you

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and with natural willowbark it contains no dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. dirt and toxins do a vanishing act and my skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from the new line of neutrogena naturals. this morning on "today's money," are you a sucker for a sale? it feels good to get a deal, but spending money just because you think it's a price you can't pass up, that's another story. jean, good morning. >> good morning. >> boy, you're looking at a sucker right here for a sale. >> i've been a sucker for sales, too. it made me wonder, you know, what is this? it turns out there's a real battle that goes on in your brain every time you're going to buytioning. there's the pleasure center and it lights up when you see

something that you really want. but there's a pain center called the insula. when we see something on sale, it takes away some of the pain of having to pay full price. that's why it's easier, sometimes too easy, to buy something. >> so you're saying we're in a state of temporary insanity. >> right. >> we have to figure out how to not do the wrong thing. you say ask a few questions. >> right. you want to ask yourself, first of all, do i need this? where would i put this? a really good question to ask, would i buy this if it was full price? if you're visiting something, if you see a pair of shoes and you keep visiting them because you know you really want them you're just waiting until the price goes down, that's one thing. but if you walk into a store and on impulse you see something that's 50% off, you have to remind yourself, you're still paying the other 50%. >> so if you see a pair of shoes and they're cute but you don't really love them, but what a deal, that's the wrong impetus.

>> right. >> you also say don't try on the clothing if you have any questions about it. >> this is really interesting. so there's a psychological phenomenal called loss aversion. it turns out that as much as we really like getting something, we hate losing that thing even more. once you try it on, your brain basically takes ownership of it and if you don't buy it at that point, you feel it as if it's a loss. >> that's why they're always trying to get us to try things on. >> if you're not sure, don't go into the dressing room. >> when you see something that says limited only sale, warning sign. >> warning sign. it is trying to get your brain to behave sort of like pavlov's dog and just react to those cues and know that if you don't do it right this second, you're not going to do it at all. it's a very, very difficult situation to resist. i think in those cases, if it's not returnable, you probably

want to steer clear. >> and conversely, i think you also want to have already set up some goals financially. that's what you've been telling us every time you've come. you should make those goals tangible to support you in your decision not to buy something. >> if you know the thing you want more than anything else is a new car or great vacation and you actually have a picture of that vacation, you can draw on it when you're trying to get yourself not to buy the shoes or whatever it is. >> what if you want to think about retirement? >> then you have to -- picture it. picture it. i know what my retirement looks like. it looks like a gray colonial shingled beach house on long beach island. that's what it looks like to me. i have the picture, so i can go back and draw on it whenever i'm trying not to do something in the moment. >> all right. you also say -- you say consistently spend with cash. don't use your cards. and you also say eat at home before you shop. >> right. because one of the things they

do when you they get you to start eating is relaxing your reflexes. relaxing your impulse control. so you go into a store and you have little nibbles, right, you're all of a sudden all of your impulse control goes away. >> so when they say, do you want a bottle of water, that's -- do you want a glass of wine, even worse. >> you have to be very, very careful. >> and the cash versus credit versus you don't have to pay for this until 2003, anytime they can make the payment far off into the future it makes it less real and you feel the pain of that purchase less strongly. >> okay, mama. thank you so much. telling us the right advice this morning. coming up, the original series that sparked several hit spin-offs. the women of "the real housewives of orange county" are here after these messages. muscls that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves

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coming up, new ga of orange county. and we're dishing up grilled lamb chops. i want someone to bring the make-up counter to me. i want to be the first to discover the latest. and get a little advice from my avon representative whenever i ask. this is beauty that delivers from avon. see how avon can deliver extra income for you. go to avon.com or call 800 for avon to become a representative. do you often experience the feeling of a dry mouth? it can be the side effect of many medications. dry mouth can be frustrating... and ignoring it can lead to... sipping water can help, but dentists recommend biotene.

biotene moisturizes and helps supplement some of saliva's enzymes, providing soothing relief when you need it most. don't ignore dry mouth... look for biotene in your oral care section today. this has been medifacts for biotene. good morning to you, 9:26 right now. an earthquake destroys a building and people cheer. that's a headline that you don't hear too often. later today the earthquakes will actually start demolishing this warehouse to build a new soccer stadium. the new stadium will cost roughly $60 million and seat 16,000 fans. it's expected to be built within the next couple of years. a bay area college hockey team is back on the ice after accusations of team hazing

before an event. the team has now been cleared of all charges but they were suspended for six games after a parent accused the team of hazing during travel to a team event. there's also a youtube video allegedly showing the players drinking. none of the players were punished by the university and they're cleared to play in the national championship which starts later this month. we're going to have a look at traffic and weather right after this. [ wheezing breaths ] [ woman ] the first time i smoked, i was 13.

i was in a hurry to grow up and wanted to look cool. big tobacco knew it, and they preyed on me. i'm here to tell you that big tobacco hasn't changed. they continue to profit... by selling kids the same lies... to get them to use... the same deadly products. don't be big tobacco's next victim. good morning to you, well, we do have a little bit of shower activity coming down in the east bay hills. but right now we're seeing a mostly dry bay area, a little bit of fog has developed in the north bay, so take it easy up there, reduced visibility reported in santa rosa. 63 degrees is your high today and 66, even better for tomorrow. and the showers come back for saturday and sunday. >> it's a thursday, but we still have some slowing through the

south bay, because northbound 101 and capitol, there's an accident in one lane. the maze continues in the typical spot. oakland right past high street, and the golden gate bridge, we have that fog you were talking about christina. >> i'll have another local news update for you in half an hour t "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning.

♪ that's right. we're still talking about the red carpet at the oscars because a lot of people want to look this glamilous. if you think it's out of your price range, well, we have some ideas for you this morning to help you get into a beautiful red carpet dress without getting into the red yourself. so that's coming up tomorrow actually here on "today." meantime, coming up this morning, we'll talk about cool new gadgets.

>> that's right. lou is here with everything from a smart thermostat to an actual wind turbine for your home. that's -- believe it or not, we've got it. >> it's on the left. let's widen out and show you. >> why would you want a wind turbine in your homes? >> to save money on your electric bill. and it make s millions of fries. season six of "the real housewives of orange county" is about to kick off with all of the signature drama. look at those legs. we'll go behind the -- >> and a lovely buffet. >> we'll check win the lovely ladies of orange county. >> wow. >> speaking of lovely, we'll make a transition into "today's kitchen." we have a noted new york chef here in our kitchen. she's going to create a feast inspired by her trip around the

world, especially her time in greece. she's going to make lamb, as you can see. she's also the author of a book called "blood, bones and butter" that is getting huge reviews. it's really beautifully written. you love it as well. >> i do. it's one of the most revealing memoirs. forget about as a chef, but just as a memoir. it's amazing. >> and it ties her life growing up to food. so much so that actually i have more props. there is a full-page article that came out yesterday about her. we probably should name her. her name is gabrielle hamilton. she has a restaurant here called prune here in new york city. that's all coming up. first, we have a check of the weather. >> let's show you what's going on for tomorrow. we've got more rain moving into the pacific northwest. a risk of strong storms in the mid-mississippi river valley tomorrow. nice and warm in texas. then as we move into the weekend, saturday, heavy rain moves into the western great lakes. and the lower mississippi river

valley. more rain in the northwest. and sunday we're looking at heavy rain and up and d good morning to you, bay area, well, the east bay is getting a little bit of shower activity, but overall we're seeing a lot of improvement. high pressure is building back in, and that is compressing the moisture we have already, as a result foggy conditions in the north bay. temperatures reaching 63 degrees, 66 tomorrow, another storm on the way this weekend. >> and that's your latest weather. >> thank you, al. now to today's royal treatment, our contest where we're sending a lucky viewer and a guest all expenses paid to england during the week of the royal wedding. to enter, send us a video. here's what one viewer sent us.

>> i want to tailgate with the londoners so bad. in honor of the event y made a couple of modifications to an old american tailgating favorite, the beer dispenseiing d helmet. i now introduce the tea dispensing bonnet. sugar. mmm. tastes like a happily ever after. >> now that was creative. >> that's clever. >> with the straw. that was creative. >> if you think you can top that, the winner will get two ickets onritish airways to london during the wedding of dait middkate middle and briprince william. >> go to todayshow.com. first-class tickets. that's pretty darn nice. coming up next, from wind turbines to smart thermostats,

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make your home more efficient. lou is here with innovative products. nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> so this is awfully cool stuff. i mean, i know we're talking, you know, everybody is talking about solar panels. but now we're talking about wind turbines? >> the real answer for energy independence is solar and wind. this is one of the slickest ones that i've seen. a lot of different versions out there right now. this is the honeywell wind turbine. six foot in diameter. will turn in less than a half a mile an hour wind. it produces 15% of the energy your home needs. >> wow. >> you can get a 30% tax credit from the federal government currently most states will give you that as well. it can mount on your roof, it can mount on a pole. it integrates with your current power system. >> so you have to have somebody come install it. >> right. about $9,500 installed. but with the tax credit, this is -- ten years from now, we'll

see these things and unit like this everywhere. >> so you put two of these in your home and you -- >> you could do 30% of the electricity that you need. >> thermostats are getting smarter and smarter. >> yes. these are two models. these are internet enabled. they can allow you to control from your smartphone, from your computer. they will give you these very detailed read-outs on your energy use. they'll allow you to do zoning. this one by, you can even put on sd card in there and load images so you don't have to look at the thermostat stuff when you're not there. >> so you can look at your family. >> look at that. >> as we get older, the buttons are nice and big. it's very intuitive. >> and, look, there's grandma. >> she's freezing to death. turn the place up here. this is the wave. this is something really professionally installed because it is integrated with your system. but the way to command the energy and your comfort by the use of these things is amazing.

>> what are the costs? >> installed, around $600. >> okay. security always a big concern. >> first alert, they know all about smoke detectors, carbon monoxide. this is about $399, complete wireless system. you plug this in, you plug the camera in and it integrates nicely. you can look at these cameras. a great application is if you want to know who is at the front door, this screen comes in there and you can keep it there. if you want to keep it going, it records everything on a small little sd card. it constantly recovers and covers and then you can delete that. it couldn't be any easier to set up. >> some of these systems actually -- you can monitor them on. >> yeah. that's terrific. this one doesn't yet. but i really like it for its affordability and what it does. stay with me on this. potty training. the age-old thing, right? you're touching the toilet seat and the kids -- >> thanks for giving me that,

lou. >> it's clean. the people over at mayfair, look at this. come on! >> why didn't i think of that? >> that is hi-tech right there. >> it's a convertible toilet. >> i know it's not high-tech, but high funk. >> we like that. >> that's your biggest fan. >> oh! lou is here until thursday! >> thank you, sir. >> for more on these products, head to todayshow.com. coming up next, we're here with all of the drama. we've got the real housewives of orange county. [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch

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dinner with the girls tonight. i really want dessert. i better skip breakfast. yep, this is all i need. [ stomach growls ] [ female announcer ] skipping breakfast to get ahead? research shows that women who eat breakfast, like the special k breakfast, actually weigh less. now in new multigrain oats and honey. with honey kissed whole grains... you'll never want to skip breakfast again. make your breakfast beautiful. combine two pounds of potatoes and some cooking oil with a packet of hidden valley ranch, and we have a side dish that might just upstage the main -- ranch potatoes. [ male announcer ] hidden valley ranch. mix it up. his family knows what to expect. but what mike rowe doesn't know

is that his parents have armed themselves with unquilted viva® towels. wow, for me? [ male announcer ] if viva can handle mike rowe's mess, just think what it can do in your home. grab a roll for yourself and grasp the unquilted difference. well, from rocky relationships to ever-changing loyalties and sizzling romances, the return of "the real housewives of orange county" promises to be full of surprises. joining me now, the women of the popular franchise. good morning, ladies. this is exciting. this is life-changing for all of you. vickie, you were part of the original group that started out. when you look back at six seasons later, is it something that you imagined? >> no. we weren't even picked up by bravo at that time. so we had no idea it was going

to be so successful. >> it's a runaway success. peggy, you're new to the game? >> i'm the newbie. i've been in the business my whole life. i've done hosting and modeling. i had just gone through post-partum depression. it's something that helped me get through that. >> did you watch the show before agreeing to come on? >> i watched the second season. it didn't watch it again until alexis got on it. she actually said you should try out. here i am. >> alexis, did you want peggy on the show? i've heard different things. >> there's a lot of rumors out there. but the truth of the matter is she's a very good friend of mine. and when we were having the conversation, i don't remember saying, oh, come on the show, but she was excited. this is my version. she was excited to come on. i was like, yeah, yeah, that would be fun. then i hung up and i had a stomach ache and i thought, she's my good friend. i know what's going to happen if they dear friend gets on this

show. >> what did you think would happen? >> there's a lot of conniving and evil competition. >> it doesn't have to be that way. speaking of -- speaking of, gretchen and tamara, what's going on with your relationship? >> we're friends. >> we're best friends. >> friends or frenemies? >> you guys had a tumultuous relationship. >> we have a rocky relationship. >> yes, yes. >> is that because you're on a reality program or do you think it would just be that way? >> probably. it's only like this on camera. >> yeah. >> we get along really well off camera. >> how strange -- tamara, to play out your relationship and your marriage and the way that went on camera for you. >> very difficult. one of the hardest things i've ever done. had i -- if i had to do it all over again y probab, i probably. >> did the show ruin the marriage? >> i'd like to think no, but if

you're not in a solid foundation in your marriage and you get thrown into this tv world, it's difficult. >> two of you are dating younger man. >> i'm married to a younger man. >> well, you were at one point dating the younger man. you're referred to as cougars. i hate that. it's just so wrong. >> i'll take it. >> my husband is three years younger. that's hardly younger. >> how much younger is yours? >> five. >> that's nothing. is that part of the new confidence, being able to reel in a younger -- >> i wasn't looking for a younger guy. it just happened. >> it will be interesting to see what happens. i know you'll talk about your financial questions, the luxe life. it will be interesting. i'd love to see it. you guys, stop fighting. come on. >> we're two weeks. we're doing good. >> very nice. ladies, thank you very much. up next, a simple feast inspired by a trip around the

world.

this morning on "today's kitchen" grilled lamb from hot chef gabrielle hamilton. she's the author of a highly acclaimed new memoir called "blood, bones and butter." gabrielle hamilton, good morning. interesting title. >> well, i spent a lot of time in my job as a chef with blood and bones and butter. >> exactly. >> i think fwlood isblood is aby and clan and blood lines. butter is all the sweet stuff. >> this memoir is getting a huge response. what is this now? it's already in its third -- >> check me out. >> before it's even published, it's coming up this week.

>> it's been -- it went on sale yesterday. >> yesterday. so there you go. and here the "wall street journal" says it's artfully structured. the "new york times" is calling it brilliantly written. >> all of that is very true. >> and now as we talk about your book, you'll give us good stuff for your viewers. you're choosing a kind of lamb chop that is of the cheaper cut but not less flavorful if you know what you're doing with it. >> this is more flavorful. it's not the fillet minion of the lamb. it's from the shoulder. we're just going to grill it. salt and pepper it. this comes from an island i spent a lot of time on as a penniless pabackpacker. >> in your 20s. >> forever my ideal of what a restaurant should be. you just go in and lift the lids and point and get what you need. so this would be it. >> you grill that and you get one of these things. >> the other side, that's right. >> you're using dried oregano.

>> yes. >> this is greek oregano. when you walk t comes up in the aroma in the air. it's incredible. >> this is a garlic. it's potato but it's really 14 cloves of garlic. >> 14 cloves of garlic. >> disguised in a couple of potatoes. >> great. >> and we've grated the potatoes. we're going to do 14 of these. >> this is a great way to do that. it's -- you don't want to get your fingers. >> right. >> we've got to keep moving along. >> that's not all the garlic you're using. >> it's a garlic olive oil. these are wild streens. this is dand ydandylion. i'm going to add some water. >> delicious. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> let's get to the back. you're going to put some spice

in here. >> yep. >> and that's like a pine resin. it smells fantastic. >> we want to eat. i want to help her finish that. this looks wonderful. >> it smells like om c >>gin. up >> coming up, splurging and saving on your spring wardrobe. ,

god thursday morning to you, i'm laura garcia-cannon.

an fbi agent found a tracking device on his car. 20-year-old mission college student arrived back in san jose last night after being washington, d.c. he says he's suing the fbi for violating his constitutional rights. he says a mechanic found a tracking device during an oil change last fall. after posting a picture of the device on the internet, fbi agents knocked on his door and threatened him with federal charges if he didn't give it back. >> they came with suvs, they weren't knocking on the door nicely, they were intimidating saying if you don't give us the device back we'll arrest you. when i found out what the device was, i wanted to seize the moment and see if we can file a lawsuit. >> there's a ban on placing gps devices on cars without a warrant.

>> we can see some breaks of sunshine as this high moves in. that's going to take the storm track well to the north. watch out for some fog in the north bay and we'll see some on and off spotty showers throughout the day. we're mostly clear right now along the peninsula and the south bay. as you head through the afternoon, expect a high temperature around 63 degrees. even better for tomorrow, 66 degrees. let's check your commute. >> we have another incident from the santa cruz mountains, the intent at highway 9 cleared and then we have had another accident in the last few minutes. in any case, a slowdown heading into the south bay. northbound 101 at capitol is moving along well. >> now we'll go to break, another update in a half an hour, see you then. california should be proud.

we were the first to ban smoking on airplanes. the first to have smoke-free bars and restaurants. all while saving over $86 billion in health care costs... and over a million lives. we've done a good job. but even if you were born today,

you'd still grow up in a world where tobacco kills more people... than aids, drugs, alcohol, murder and car crashes... combined. we have a lot more work to do. from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> yes, it's hoda woman and kathie lee. your worst nightmare on thursday, march 3rd. we're so glad you're with us today. thanks for joining us. >> since it is thursday we should get the props out of the way. these are called vapor water bottles. and they are designed to stand up, which is kind of nice, when they're full and then they fold when they are empty. and you can put all kinds of things in it. whatever you like. they are washable and they are freezable. and they are $10.

we have water in ours. i don't think so. and it's like -- do they work just like the normal way? you just pop it up. you just pull it. >> let me see. >> pull it. >> maybe -- >> yours isn't -- >> nope. >> that's good. >> chardonnay. >> very nice. all right. so red book came out -- a lot of people say inappropriate things. they just say the wrong things. "redbook" is trying to help you out. here some are things not to say. never, ever to say. >> to a working mom. >> it must be hard to miss all those very special moments every day. yeah, that's awful. first of all, just the term working mom is upsetting to me because if you are home, you are a working mom. you know, you -- if you leave the home you carry all this guilt. >> eye working outside of the home mother. >> listen to this one. this is what not to say to a

woman who works outside the home. i just love my kids too much to leave them during the day. in other words you don't love them at all. here's another one. i could never let anyone else raise my children but that's just me. hated my mom because she was never home after school like everybodyalcy mom. >> terrible mom. >> i wish i were as laid back as you and let the housework all go. >> your house is a mess. >> here's what to never, ever say to a stay-at-home mom. >> oh, so you work? >> no, so you don't work? >> it's funnier the other way. >> also, you don't work? >> absolutely. since you have so much extra time on your hand, why don't you whip up a few extra batches of brownies for the bake sale tomorrow. >> people say mean things. >> sometimes they mean to be mean. >> all day with your kids? i can't even imagine. >> that's mean. >> and what do you do all day anyway? >> that's the worst.

terrible. terrible. >> so maybe the worst. that explains why your son is so clingy. >> wow. >> people say unkind things. and i don't -- do you really think they mean them? ? >> people do and some don't. >> some are completely clueless. >> when someone says something unkind to me, i usually just blow it off and think they don't know what they are talking about. >> you have to let stuff go and then pick your fights once in a while. >> i try to be nice with people wherever they are. and the one day i just about had it. and i was standing on a curb side. i'd just come from a charity event. and i saw these women coming at me. you can tell. and they were lovely and we had a nice time and all of that. and then always be on your guard when someone says, i love you and regis so much, but i got to tell you. oh, stop. stop right there. i said no you really don't. bye. what did she say? that dress you had on the other

day, not good. >> people say anything. and i don't know. i just looked at her. i said, you know what? i didn't ask you. >> you said that? >> i did. >> i said i hope you don't take this the wrong way but i don't understand when you say something to someone like me or anyone else, we may be on television but we have feelings. why do you think that is something i would want to hear? and she was so furious with me. >> but people say -- >> i told you people say to me like in the mall, take your coat off and spin around because i want to see -- because you look a lot bigger on tv. i was like, spin around? you know, i find myself taking off my coat for these people. >> you did it at your book signing. she'll do anything for you. >> and i thought -- i was like, why am i doing this? >> because you are a people pleaser, which is a nice thing. >> lucky for you. >> okay. all right. >> getting a lot of women very fired up. >> ticked off. so there is this woman who

is a stay at home girlfriend. she wrote a book. >> it's chardonnay. >> i know. i told you. >> that tricky -- >> it's fills, too. >> so she wrote a blog about living at home with her boyfriend, being a stay-at-home girlfriend. she wrote a blog. people were lit up and upset. >> she lost her job. he then became the main source of income for the couple. she's gotten more of grief. people are like furious with her because they are saying, well, she's saying things like this. i don't sleep in. this is what she advised other women. don't sleep in because you don't want to -- make him breakfast. keep the place clean so you don't -- so he doesn't have to pick up after himself and those kind of things. get your mani and pedi and wax and everything so he feels good and people were very, very upset. >> here's the interesting thing about it. we call it feminism because it means choice. you have the freedom to choose the kind of life you want. then when somebody chooses a

choice we don't like, we pick them off. that's totally hypocrisy. >> yeah, we do. >> let the woman live the life she's chosen. who is it hurting? >> it touches a nerve with people. people always say they impose their values and their, you know, their things on you. that's what they want. this is interesting, though. you know, this is an unofficial census. you always wonder am i in the norm when it comes to certain things. >> no. >> how many credit cards do you carry? that's the question. the average american carries 3.5 credit cards. >> so the half one isn't going to get you anywhere. i don't get that. >> try to use that somewhere. >> the average tip that people live is 18%. >> i'm glad to hear that because it's -- 15% is -- >> yeah, but not everybody can. >> right. >> but some people are just cheap. >> do you leave a tip if you've had bad service? >> yes, because i'm a pleaser. natural pleasers do. so i usually leave less of a tip if i get bad service but i don't ever leave no tip. >> do you ever tell them it was bad service? >> it depends.

>> have you ever just taken off on somebody? >> no. >> just in road rage when they can't -- they don't know it's me. i go crazy. no, i don't. do you? >> i don't let somebody know if they've been incredibly rude. i try to do it in a nice way but -- >> i remember. >> most people, we're about -- >> was it bad? >> i'll remind you after the show. >> most people wear seven different pairs of shoes per year. bobbi thomas wears seven in a day. your average facebook friends is 130. >> did you know that anthony thinks bobbi is a goddess? >> anthony our cameraman? >> he is looking ford tomorrow when bobbi is here for bobbi's buzz. >> anthony has a crush. >> anthony, did you know the average couple has sex a little over twice a week. and did you also know -- and did you also know that half the women fake it and half the women fake it. so you're doing really well.

>> what about the last one? >> -- admit to having a one-night stand. >> you say this one. >> most people view porn on sundays. >> you are supposed to be in church on sundays, not viewing porn. >> after church. after-church activity. it's thursday. this is a song i'm going to tee it up for a second. you need a workout song, this is the one for you. if you oar you can't get off the couch, this song is guaranteed. here's what i love. it's a beyonce song that people missed. it's called "get me bodied by beyonce." it's got the best words. and because it was so important, we brought the backup dancers. okay. so come on out. get ready. this is so good. get ready. but you've got to have it you

ready? ready? ♪ >> i can get down, ready? >> do the uh-oh, uh-oh. >> brought to you by nbc news. ♪ catch your weave, ladies catch your weave ladies ♪ do it again. >> go. ♪ pose for the camera now click, click pose for the camera now click, click ♪ ♪ do an old school dance an old school dance ♪

♪ ready? here comes the best part. ♪ cool off cool off ♪ ♪ cool off cool off ♪ all right, you guys. that's it. oh, my gosh. awesome. >> who are you people? >> awesome. awesome. >> loved it. i love beyonce. >> it's called "get me bodied." isn't it a good workout song? >> i guess. >> i love beyonce. it's just not my thing. >> how can you possibly say after that experience we all shared? how can you say it's not your thing? you were letting your hair down, shaking your moneymakers. ♪ some enchanted evening is it okay or not okay? is it okay or not okay to spoil your children? >> to totally spoil your

children. >> kathie lee says no. is t is okay to overlove your child. >> if that's possible. >> but you damage them when you overspoil them. make sure you know the difference. i think that's good. >> hoda said something intelligent this week. she said definitely not -- can i see it please? definitely not a spoiled child becomes a spoiled adult. but that is totally true. >> yes it is. we have a very big show. a fun show. we're going to look behind the scenes at the life of one of tv's most beloved tv moms. >> we're going to sit down with meredith baxter and her life partner. she's a lovely lady. [ alarm blares ] you stay here hon'. i'm gonna go cook breakfast.

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as elyse keaton on "family ties" meredith baxter became one of tv's most famous moms. she was grappling with alcoholism, low self-esteem, alcoholism and abuse. she announced she is gay and now

she's written a book about her life called "memoiuntied." meredith baxter is here. >> i even love the title of this book. most of us founder but we don't really adit in too easily. >> i thought it was so apparent that i really had to acknowledge that. and basically it was from the floundering that my life has really become just a stellar experience. >> before you came on the "today" show and you write about this in your book, just the anxiety that you were feeling, you were really afraid. when you look back on it now and that moment, are you still glad that you did it that you came on the show and you -- >> oh, totally. i really thought, this is the end. this is the worst thing i could possibly do. and when we walked out of here it was like, oh. >> a lot of people who come out express that same feeling. like why did i wait so long, right? >> still a lot of fears and unknowns. i guess i'm still experiencing that today. about what effect will that have on my career. and that's really the biggest

stumbling block for me. >> do people still care, though in hollywood, of all places? you've been together now five years, right? >> uh-huh. >> did it affect your career when it came out? >> it's hard to say. it hasn't changed a lot. i wasn't working much before and i'm still not working much but it could be an age thing because i'm 63. there aren't many 63 -- >> you are? >> you must have been really instrumental in helping meredith come out. what did you guys talk about before the big reveal on "today." >> i don't know if i was instrumental in her coming out but we did talk about it because it was important in my own life that i not be in the closet. but it was certainly meredith's decision to make that for herself. >> did it have a lot to do with the fact you have five children? did they know you had discovered this about yourself? so they knew? >> yes. >> there's no secrets in my family or my -- >> just the public perception. >> it was really a business thing.

and in public. if we were in a restaurant, i probably wouldn't be sitting like this with my arm around nancy. i would be a little more circumstance, circumspect. >> when did you tell your children and how did that discussion happen? >> it was no big deal. you know, generally, the attitude was, we just want you to be happy. >> well, were your children aware of all the other things you talk about in your book, the abuse which your ex-husband still says didn't happen, david byrney. were they aware of that? physical and emotional abuse you say? >> yes. >> do the kids know about that? >> it's no secret although the younger kids, one -- not all of the kids have decided to read the book, which is fine. but they knew what -- some knew what they had experienced. knew stuff that was historical, they probably didn't know the details. >> i thought your childhood was interesting. reading about your mom. it was interesting that your mom

didn't like you to call her mom because she was worried about being -- her age would have been revealed sort of. what a beautiful woman she was. >> you know, she was a stunner. she was really lovely. in the '50s, that was really an important thing to look young and available and sexy and -- >> she was 23 and already had three children? >> yeah, well, she started early. my life paralleled hers a lot. i got married very young. i had three -- i had children very young. i got divorced and then married someone else and basically gave my children to my husband because he didn't think i could do much. i didn't think i could do much so he controlled them. and she had done exactly the same thing. >> nancy is meredith different since the "today" show thing, now that everything is out there in the public for everyone to see? >> she's a lot more open. i think a lot of our friends even notice that. she's a lot more open and she's -- >> she's waiting.

>> no, there's an openness and a big freedom about her that you didn't see as much before. i would see it at home, but now i think everyone else gets to see it. >> wow. well, it's a really interesting read. there's -- you have such a multifaceted life. so many things i didn't know about. it's a great read. thanks for coming on. >> appreciate it. >> very nice to see you, too. >> they have the greatest hair in the world. >> we love your hair. great hair. >> thank you. >> that's two hair commercials if nothing else. >> we could. look at this. long and short. the baby belly laugh that will steal your heart. it's going to make your day, too. >> be right back. well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad.

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but i've got a warm, fresh baked strawberry toaster strudel. see the difference? mmmm. i do. (announcer) pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. webtastic. >> get regjected from a job isn't usually a laughing matter. that wasn't the case for dad marcus and his then 8-month-old

son micah. >> baby micah got a real chuckle out of his dad's rejection letter. being rejected never felt so good. check it out. [ laughing ] [ giggling ] >> oh, my gosh. >> unbelievable.

>> i guess he was sitting on the couch opening the mail. he didn't even do it as anger. and micah who is 10 months old found it funny so they turned on the video. it's generated over 800,000 hits on youtube. and so hot they'll be on the earlier hours tomorrow. oh, that is hilarious. >> you don't find this video funny, check your pulse. >> that say great find. >> thank you honey. still to come, five trends to splurge or save your way to a better spring wardrobe. plus we put on blindfolds. we're going to table test some wine. >> oh, yes we will. >> how to keep your pet healthy after this. you gotta come see what's new. c'mon! tadaaa! welcome to haircolor heaven. aa-ah-ahhh! courtesy of new nice 'n easy colorblend foam. permanent, dimensional color, now in a delightful foam!

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add a touch of pure sophistication to your home, with the new limited edition white collection from air wick. parents of at a south bay elementary school are reeling today. the school claims two former members of the parent teachers organization have allegedly stolen $50,000. police have arrested anne zingel. they're still looking for the former pto president. the current president and treasurer found questionable transactions on old bank statements.

they used funds for tennis shoes and a family trip to leggo land. >> you're not supposed to go keep it for yourself. >> pto money is set aside for field trips and grants teachers. we're going to have a look at traffic and weather after the broke.

good morning to you, welcome back, our temperatures are already in the 50s this morning. and because it's already so warm at 10:30, it looks like we're going to reach the 60s before

all is said and done. you're at 52 degrees in sunnyvale, 63 in san francisco, and it's a little cooler in the areas that had the dense fog earlier in morning. it's going to be a little bit cooler in the north bay as we head through the afternoon as a result. 63 degrees is your forecast high, we will see hit or miss showers, it's dry, and on saturday and sunday, the rain returns. >> it is nice, not beach going weather necessarily and that's good news because coming back from the beach, this is what you have. you're already until you get to the scene of a disabled vehicle and a car crash happening just north of the summit. to a slow ride up into los gat toes. but the rest of the south bay looking already now. san mateo u southbound approaching the bridge. steady flow of traffic and you're starting to make up the outline of those hills, cloudy and the haze breaking up a little bit.

now a little smoother drive past high street past the toll plaza. >> hopefully it leads to a good afternoon for you. we'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning starting at 5:00 a. now in today's style, it's dream versus deal. do you fopt splunge or save a few books. five trend that will help you get the most out of your spring wardrobe. >> shenay is the author of "the bra book." >> i like the idea of the deal versus the dream. >> you want stuff that will get you the most mileage out of your wardrobe and update your existing wardrobe with these items so you don't have to go out and buy all new things for spring. >> we have the pump. >> my favorite, the gladiator. >> everybody wants to look like russell crowe. >> the cagey sandals have been

around a few seasons. this season we're getting them in nude. >> it won't cut the leg so much. >> it won't cut the leg so much. those are cole haan, maria sharapova. so they have the nike technology. $198 from bloomington's or payless for under 30 bucks. >> these are beautiful, these drop earrings. >> j. lo was wearing these last night on "american idol." and i noticed, i said i'm showing them tomorrow. and all over the red carpet. last season it was all about the necklace. now it's about the earrings. >> very pretty. >> these are laura paola for $225. or you can get the same look from claire's for $10. >> sometimes i go in little shops with my daughter that are not expensive stores and i like the jewelry so much. it's really great stuff. >> you don't have to spend a lot of money. >> and we're talking about bags. last season everyone had the slouchy, the oversized, the

embellished. move those to the back of the closet. this season it's all about structure. >> how are you going to get all your stuff in this? >> we love -- >> there's no way on god's green earth anything can fit in this little guy. >> this is for, you know, just running around. you only need a few things. >> your credit card and keys. >> you can twair on your shoulder, crossbody. this is tori birch and this is michael kors. >> i like love everything that michael does. >> the kelly green. >> big for spring. >> i like to see some kelly green on some grass pretty soon. that would be nice. >> you have to have a colorful scarf. a nice silk scarf, of course. i don't know if you can tell which one is gucci and which one is not. >> they are both from nordstrom. go to the same store and get one for $125 or one for $45.

>> why is she wearing it on her head like that? >> the great thing about a scarf, it's so versatile. you can wear it around your neck, on your head, tie it to your handbag. >> look at the metal stuff on the ends. >> very cute. >> and pair it with your neutrals for a pop of color. >> yes, a trench. >> got to have the trench. >> this will be in your closet forever. this will be an item that will get you the most mileage. and one of them is burberry and one is london fog. one cost $1,000 and one cost under $100. >> you can't see the inside. >> no, that's the london fog. >> i am going to say this one. >> if you open this one up you'll see the signature burberry print. $1100 or get the same look for under $100. >> all good. really good stuff. thank you. >> is that your real name? >> it is my real name. up next we unleash some

innovative products to entertain your pets and keep them healthy when you're not at home. >> oh, my bluey. winter can be beautiful. [ female announcer ] and now, winter skin can be too. discover relief from dry, uncomfortable skin with skin relief moisturizing lotion. only aveeno has an active naturals triple oat and shea butter formula that soothes, nourishes and restores moisture. women saw improvement in all five symptoms of winter skin in just one day. beauty you can see and feel.

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now on today's pets, innovative new products for our four-legged friends. our workdays get longer, our dogs are spending a lot more time home alone. >> it's sad, isn't it? >> how do you raise a socially well adjusted dog when nobody is home.

it's all about the toys. >> she is co-founder of daily treat and a specialty pet boutique. >> we're into your title. >> thanks for having me. >> let's talk about the food portion of the program here. >> a busy pet say happy pet. we have here the kong wobbler. all it is you place treats within this little hole here. my dog loves this. they bump it around the house and the treats intermittently spill out. there's no nubs they can chew off. they just bump it around the house and a treat intermittently comes out. >> he doesn't like certain things. >> what's happening down here with this ball? >> this is called the kibble nibble. and similarly you place treats within the ball. >> what is this dog's name? >> bentley. >> is bentley yours? >> yeah. you place treats within the

ball. they intermittently come out. and it's also a great way for mealtime. some dogs eat their food too quickly. you can feed them this way. so that's a great thing to -- >> he saw it come out. >> they have to work on it. >> kick it for an hour and a half. >> this is one of my favorite new toys. it's ecofriendly. uses plastic water bottles instead of squeakers. what's cool, a lot of dogs love the sound. so you stick it inside this. isn't that great? >> and once they puncture and ruin it, just put another water bottle in there. >> are these leashes? >> this is a brand new company called cycle dog. these are made out of recycled bike tire tubes. and so a lot of bike tire tubes go into the land fills every year. they repurpose them into collars and leashes. i believe this one even has a bolt opener on it. >> speaking our language.

>> i like this a lot. >> i thought you'd appreciate that. >> is that a doggy bed? >> what's really great about this is a brand new product called the doggy duvet. you get this little netted sack. you can stuff it with old t-shirts, textiles and then you can recover it with these duvets. say you have a dog bed. it's ugly. you can just buy this bedding stack and get the duvet for about $20. >> very cute. >> these are biodegradable poop bags. we're picking up a lot of you-know-what these days. these degrade at the same rate as an apple. if your dog was to poop on an apple, then you can do the math. >> he likes to poop on bananas. >> is this an air freshener? >> this is a nontoxic eco-friendly cleaning product for urine and, well, might have

been handy this morning. >> we know over here. >> yes. >> we were thinking that. there's a stench. >> a little funky in here. you can just spray it and walk away. you don't have to blot away. just spray and walk away. >> oh, cute dog. >> oh, my gosh. >> this is isaac. >> isaac. and his ears. isaac is chewing on his veggie bed. we stuffed the sack and now he's on his new little bed there. >> this right here. >> come on over. >> these are all organic natural treats. there's no byproducts or fillers. these are freeze dried chicken breasts. also many of these are grain free. a lot of dogs have allergies to grain like people do. so these are great for pets and

for those that might have -- >> thank you so much. thank you. >> thank you, everybody. when we return, blindfolds and wine. >> wow, just another day at my house. >> you don't want to miss what happens next. when your eyes are smiling... you're smiling. and when they're laughing... you're laughing. be kind to your eyes... with transitions lenses. transitions adapt to changing light so you see your whole day comfortably... and conveniently while protecting your eyes from the sun. ask your eyecare professional which transitions lenses are right for you. - definitely the one on the right. - yeah, are y-- - seriously, the clorox one. - oh, okay. the difference is obvious. for the whitest whites, use detergent, plus the advanced whitening formula of clorox bleach.

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we're back. putting our taste buds to the test, seeing if we can taste the steal versus the splurge. here to quiz us is ray from "food & wine" magazine. >> glad to be back. >> okay. >> and i get to blind fold you today. >> what's the game? >> i brought the cups, too. >> good. evening more interesting as we go. so you guys are wearing blindfolds. they're going to serve you an expensive wine and a not expensive wine. i'm going to serve them to you. you have to put on the blindfolds here. >> no cheating.

>> figure out which is the more expensive. which is the least expensive. we're start with champagne. why wouldn't you start with champagne. and kathie lee -- >> there you go. >> this will be interesting. >> and then you'll need your other hand. here you go. and -- >> dream come true. >> okay. >> blind folded double wine tasting. one of these is $110 champagne. the other is a $20 california sparkling wine. the question is -- >> $110. $110 is the first one. the right. but i might have switched hands. i don't know. right. >> i thought this was the more inexpensive one until i tasted this one. i'd have to do it again. >> i think it's important to -- >> i would say this is the more expensive. >> in this case, hoda, you nailed it. >> i knew it. fleur champagne 2000. and the other one, california. >> more expensive champagne doesn't taste as good.

>> it really doesn't to me. >> oh, they'll be thrilled to hear you say that. >> our next one, this is chardonnay. so i'm expecting a lot from you on the chardonnay. >> left hand. and right hand. >> this is complicated. >> i am in control here. take a sip of each. think about one napa valley chardonnay, 50 bucks a bottle. $58 actually. the other, central coast california. >> this is the expensive one. >> the left hand is the expensive one. >> i'll say this is the more expensive one. >> kathie lee is right this time. >> one of the most beautiful vineyards, too in napa. isn't it gorgeous? >> and the one you like the

foxglove. 10 bucks a bottle. 10 bucks a bottle. >> that's what i like. >> left hand. here you go. >> we're going to have to do this more often. >> what are we trying now? >> this is rosy. >> do you have octomane? >> i do but you have to figure out which one. >> this is the expensive one. >> left? you are going for left hand is expensive? >> you guys never match up. >> the right one is the domain ott. not that i had any experience. >> we have one more wine. >> i owe it all to my friend michael kitrich. >> can i ask one question. what's the score? >> the score, i think, kathie is ahead by one. this is the deciding vote. >> is it a red?

>> this is -- left hand, sorry. >> that would be this one. although i can't really recall at this point. >> right hand. >> it's hard to keep track. >> is this cabernet? >> this is either vogerlier or high end burgundy. and you have to decide which one. we have to wrap it up so you have to try it quick. >> expensive one on the right. >> expensive one on the left? you are correct. kathie lee won this one. you guys might -- i love that you like both of them. each time it was a different one. >> thank you, ray. we love you. up next, workouts inspired by oscar-winning moves and the rememberable movies that inspired them. first, this is "today" on nbc.

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have you ever wanted the body of a celebrity? >> sarah is here with new workouts inspired by your hollywood stars that will get you in shape for spring. >> i tried three movie-themed workouts that had me dancing, stretching and literally fighting to get fit. a lot of us are bugs the movie "black swan." and you were involved in the movie. >> i trained natalie portman. we're going to do ballet beautiful. it's a fitness step that i've developed to give nondancers a long, toned, powerful beauty shape with beautiful posture. my goal with getting natalie ready would have her get set and strong and great hip technique and focus on her performance. i put together a program based off really the foundation of my

ballet beautiful method. sculpting her body, making her stronger and making her look very ballerina. so working on her posture and opening up and as long as you have a computer and an internet connection you can sign on. go to my website, ballet beautiful and work out with me live. >> ow. what's not going to hurt tomorrow? >> you are going to wake up in the morning. fight club is one of the signature body sculpting classes. you can burn about 600 calories within a 45-minute session. it's great to get the aggression out, the frustration throughout the day. i totally recommend it for anyone. >> fight club is for anyone. men, women, even fighters or even beginners. >> is it cooky to think at the end i can do the "rocky" dance? >> we do the rocky dance at the end. >> seriously? >> totally. totally.

>> you guys look sexy right now. am i going to be able to do this workout not looking like this? >> of course. basically our goal is to show women. it's not really to teach you to dance but to show you you can dance. we just want to bring that out of you more and more. so the essence of burlesque dancing is to have fun, to play a character and to just take the two minutes of the dance to just express yourself in a different way. to try on a persona. we're going to do push-ups, tricep dips. we're going to do abs. so it's really a full-body workout. >> jiggly bits. >> which we're going to try to get rid of. >> i guess in this -- >> you need a little jiggle factor. >> okay. what's going on there? >> you could have done that, sarah. >> ballet beautiful was the hardest one. it turned the most.

but being sexy in a burlesque class. they kept embracing your inner woman. i was like, my dad has to watch this. >> thanks, honey. >> glad you had to do that and not us. trges ambush makeovers and exciting getaways. have a great day, everybody.

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